Even as the city government initiated sale of onions through 400 outlets at the rate of `40 per kg, the retail prices remained at `60 per kg and above in city markets. Tomatoes were sold in retail around `35 per kg and above in markets. Items like garlic and green chilly were perched at well over `100 a kg.
The city government on Thursday said onion would be sold at `40 a kg at 288 outlets of Mother Dairy 85 of Kendriya Bhandar and more than a dozen of NAFED and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) each. Each buyer will be given 2 kg only.
The availability of onion in Azadpur mandi rose from 1,144 metric tonnes (MT) on December 21 to 1,245 MT on Thursday till 7.30 am and was likely to go up to 2,000 MT. At least 498 MT of onion remained unsold on Thursday. More than 153 MT tomatoes were also unsold.
Though the government continued raids against hoarding, it has not been caught any hoarder. “Onion cannot be hoarded for long. People hold back the stock for a day or so and put the it in the market. Therefore, it is difficult to pin-point these people,” said a senior official.
The wholesale price of onions has come down from `15-`55 per kg on December 20 to `10-`37.50 per kg but the retail rate was around `60 per kg.
In Yusuf Sarai, the rate came down from `67.50 on Wednesday to `62 on Thursday and in Kotla market it was `55, down from `62.50 on Wednesday.
The wholesale prices of tomatoes in Azadpur mandi remained in the range of `6 to `20 per kg and the retail price was upwards of `35 per kg.
The rates were high in posh markets, including Green Park, Malviya Nagar and New Delhi areas.
Even the prices of other vegetables like brinjal, peas and cauliflower remained on the higher side with retailers selling them above `25 per kg.
Delhi revenue minister Raj Kumar Chouhan, however, said that the vegetables prices would come down.
“The availability of onion and tomatoes has improved in the wholesale market and with the government selling onions from 400 outlets, the prices will come down. We are monitoring the situation and will review it on Monday following which the price of onions being sold from outlets may be slashed,” said Mr Chauhan. The minister further added that the supply of onion from Nashik and Rajasthan have improved.