Onion prices crash 40% on bumper production

Prices likely to remain low, as fresh arrivals of the crop continue till May 2017

Prices of onions have collapsed on the back of two consecutive bumper production years, proving once again that when farmers grow more, they get less.

According to government data, the wholesale modal onion prices at Lasalgaon in Maharashtra, the biggest trading centre for onion in India, dropped between 30-40 per cent after the November note ban.

The cost of production of onion is around Rs 800-900 per quintal, while prices are hovering around Rs 500 per quintal across major wholesale markets.

Onion prices have come down substantially at the retail level as well, during the past one year. Around January-February last year, onion