The Centre today sought to justify the export ban on onion by saying that the wholesale price of onion in Nashik, the country’s largest wholesale hub for the bulb crop, had declined by 33 per cent to Rs 2,500 per 100kg or Rs 25 a kg. The impact will not be felt immediately on kitchen budgets as it will take some time – “two to three weeks”, according to Sharad Pawar...

With the Union government refusing to play Santa Claus and regulate market forces, the merciless rise in Onion prices threatens to mar Christmas, New Year and Makar Sankrantri festivities. With several markets reporting a further rise in prices to about Rs.85 a kg, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened, by directing the Ministries of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs to take steps to bring its prices to affordable levels. According to sources, the Prime...

But retail prices topped an eye-watering Rs. 85 a kg in Bangalore yesterday Speculative fever gripped the onion trade on Tuesday in Bangalore following a sharp decline in prices as a significant section of the buyers kept away, hoping that the slide will continue. However, retail markets in the city continued to remain buoyant, unmoved by the turmoil in the wholesale business. Trade sources speculated that the Union Government's order banning...

The Prime Minister’s Office has given direct orders to top officials of Sharad Pawar’s department to get cracking after the food minister said it would take “two to three weeks” for Onion prices to stabilise. Sources said an annoyed Manmohan Singh has conveyed to Pawar that the time frame set by the minister is too long, especially since prices have skyrocketed within a week. Expressing deep concern over the “extraordinary price rise...

Retail prices of onions continued to remain high on Tuesday even as a ban on exports led to a 30% fall in wholesale rates. The government, however, cautioned that retail prices would fall from current exorbitant levels (of Rs 75-80 per kg) only after three weeks. But prices are expected to return to the last month's reasonable levels (Rs 20-25 per kg) across the country only in March, when the...