Onion glut triggers price crash in Dindigul wholesale market

The price of big onions (Bellary variety) crashed to ₹10 a kg at the wholesale market here on Monday.

Onion merchants and farmers who bring their produce, especially, the small onion varieties from Dindigul, Tiruchi, Theni, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Perambalur, and Ariyalur districts here to the Tharagumandi Sangam complex at Meenakshi Naickenpatti were in for a surprise.

The market here functions thrice a week. The big onion variety reached here from Maharashtra and Karnataka. About 10 days ago, the market received 250 tonnes and then the price was fixed at around ₹25 a kg.

On Monday, when the market received yet another 300 tonnes, the price crashed to ₹10 a kg.

Marimuthu, a merchant at the market, said that after the Maharashtra government directly procured onions from its farmers, the government sold them through cooperative societies to other States, which was taken by private contractors as well.

The onion-growing States had reported high yield during the just concluded season. But due to Deepavali festival, the merchants felt that the price may remain stable. However, the steep fall from came as a big surprise, he said.

However, merchants said the prices may improve after Deepavali.