Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MS) 

Mangaluru, Dec 8: The price of onion is increasing day by day as the supply is too short for the demand. On Sunday, December 8, the price of old onion touched an astronomical rate of Rs 160 per kilo in central market in the city. Old onion is dry and lasts for months. 

Though some media reports said that onion price reached Rs 200 in some places of Karnataka, Rs 160 is the highest price quoted in Dakshina Kannada. 

Onion loads from Egypt and Belagavi have arrived in the market. The supply of onions from Turkey has stopped completely. Onion from Belagavi was sold in the wholesale market from Rs 130 to 140 per kilo. The wholesale price for Egypt onions was Rs 145 and retail price was Rs 155 per kilo. Second grade onion was quoted at Rs 135 per kilo in the wholesale market. The price of very small size of onions was Rs 80 per kilo. But they are of low quality and in some cases tender also which cannot even last two days. 

In Udupi, the onion price saw a rise and old onion was sold at Rs 145 per kilo, while new was quoted at Rs 120. Price of small size onion hovered between Rs 100 to 110. 

The heat of onion price has not only affected the customers but also the sellers. In Kundapur, though the onions were available, there were no buyers. Large size onions were sold at Rs 150 to 170 per kilo, while smaller variety was sold for Rs 80 to 100. The vendors were saying that the demand has gone down by more than 50%. People hope that this factor may help to bring down the price to some extent.