New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS): Believe it or not, onions are selling costlier than apples in the national capital.

The wholesale price of onions at the vegetables and fruits market here is Rs 50 per kg, while the seasonal apple, of average quality, is available at Rs 30-40 per kg in the market.

The retail price of onions at some places ranges even higher - between Rs 60 and 70.

According to sources in agricultural produce market committee of Azadpur (APMC) mandi, the seasonal apple is selling at Rs 30-40 per kg. However, good quality apples are available at Rs 100 per kg.

Azadpur Fruit and Vegetable Merchants Association President M. R. Kriplani said that apples arriving from Shimla, the hub of apple trade, are selling at Rs 30-60 per kg in wholesale, while those from Kashmir are selling at only Rs 20-50 per kg.

However, President of the Onion Merchants Association of Azadpur mandi, Rajendra Sharma said that the prices have cooled down a little bit on Monday due to improvement in arrivals, but still the wholesale price of onion is between Rs 25-45 per kg. About 150 trucks of onions arrived on Monday here, he added.

Sharma said the main reason behind the high onion prices is its short supply because of the heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh and southern parts of India.

Due to short supply, onion sold at Rs 50 per kg in wholesale, while in retail, it touched as high as Rs 75 per kg at many places in Delhi-NCR.

"The situation is likely to improve in the next few months. Hoarding of onions is not on at such a large scale as to cause alarm," said Kriplani.