Nafed on Thursday began selling onions through mobile vans in the city. The traders in Azadpur Mandi, meanwhile, claimed that the price of onions would come down considerably with the fresh lot expected by next week.
Nafed launched 15 mobile vans in the city selling onions at `35 a kg. Each buyer was given a maximum of two kg. However, the retail price of onions continued to remain upwards of `50 a kg. At Azadpur Mandi, the onion rates varied from `20 a kg to `40 depending on the variety.
A Mandi committee official, however, claimed that the wholesale rates were likely to come down to as low as `5 to `10 a kg when the new harvest arrives in the market. The new harvest starts arriving after Lohri and the wholesale market is expected to be awash with onions by next week, he said. It may lead to a decline in retail prices which may settle around `20 per kg to `25 kg.
But with reports coming in that a lot of farmers sold onions that were yet to grow fully to make money in the wake of the destruction caused by rains in Nashik region, the fresh harvest may not come to Delhi in time or in as large numbers. If this happens, the scenario may not change much.