By IANS,
Kolkata: As onion prices skyrocketed to Rs.70 a kg in markets of Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal, the state government Wednesday blamed poor supply and the central government’s decision to allow exports of the commodity for the situation.
At Bijoygarh market in south Kolkata, one kg of superior quality onions were priced between Rs.60-70. Slightly inferior quality of the bulbs cost Rs.50 a kg.
The same was the scenario in other city markets, be it Manicktala in the north or Gariahat in the south.
Reports from the western district of Midnapore as also Kolkata’a neighbouring Howrah district said onions were priced between Rs.55-65 a kg.
“We are cutting down on the use of onion in our food. If previously we used two onions daily, now we are using one,” said Snighda Dutta, a resident of Manicktala.
Prices of garlic have also shot up to Rs.250 a kg. “A better quality of the commodity today (Wednesday) cost Rs.350 a kg,” said Samir Kumar Dutta, a resident of Santoshpur.
Garlic earlier was priced between Rs.100-150 a kg.
State Agricultural Marketing Board Chairman Naren Chatterjee said low supply of onion from the other states was responsible for the price escalation.
“It is an all-India issue. Due to low rainfall in onion growing states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, there has been a 70 percent drop in production. Adding to this, the central government has allowed massive export of onion, disregarding pleas from left parties,” Chatterjee told IANS.
In West Bengal, 4.53 lakh tonnes of onion is consumed on an average annually. The state produces around 1.83 lakh tonnes.
“So there is a shortfall which has to be met through supply from other states. As the supply from other states has gone down, we are in a soup,” he said.
“The situation aggravated as the central government issued more export permits in November. Despite low yield, a large quantity of onion is going to the Middle East, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Thailand,” he said.