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Vegetable prices skyrocket in Chennai: Onions at Rs 160, drumsticks peak to Rs 400

Onion prices touched an all-time high at the Koyambedu market in Chennai on Sunday with one kilogram costing Rs 160. The price has been steadily rising over the past several weeks due to floods in several parts of the country, including Karnataka and Maharashtra. The cost of drumsticks also peaked, with one kilogram costing as high as Rs 400 in some parts of Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to TNM, VR Soundararajan, President of the Koyambedu Wholesale Traders Association and a member of Market Management Committee, said, “The market rate for onions in Koyambedu is about Rs 140 per kg. The retail price is between Rs 150 and Rs 160. Shops are getting onions from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh but these are smaller in size.”

Prema, a housewife and a regular customer at the wholesale market, told TNM that it is impossible to cook without onions but the prices have forced her to cut down consumption. “Onion and tomato are the main ingredients in most of our cooking, so we cannot cook without these. We are a family of four. Earlier, we used to add onion as per our taste and cook with five to six onions for sambar or curry. These days, I use only one or two. Even small onions (shallots) are extremely costly. We are not able to afford it,” she laments. 

With drumstick prices steadily rising over the last month, she notes that she has not used the long green vegetable for her family in nearly two months. “It is non-essential, so we have completely avoided it. But the government must do something about onion prices,” she adds. 

According to wholesalers, farmers have been struggling to produce drumsticks this monsoon season, a crop that needs abundant sunlight.

Soundararajan says that wholesalers are procuring the onions for between Rs 120 and Rs 140, “which is too high for us and we cannot manage.”

Hopes of prices going down, however, are still some weeks away, he reckons. “Prices are expected to go down after January 15 (around Pongal) when the second crop is ready. The crop cycle is 90 days for onions. I expect farmers will quickly sell their produce this time to meet the demand,” he says.

Source: The News Minute