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Govt to check onion, potato prices

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Nov 6 - Price of onion and potato, which have skyrocketed over the last few days, is expected to ease in the coming days, State government sources said today.

Food & Civil Supplies minister Phani Bhusan Choudhury today reviewed the price situation with members of Kamrup Chambers of Commerce and traders.

�The good news is that the onion prices at source, that is in Nashik has come down today. On November 4 the wholesale price there was Rs 57 per kg. Today it was Rs 45 per kg,� a senior official of the Food & Civil Supplies department told The Assam Tribune.

The official said, once the new stock arrives the retail price should not be more than Rs 66.

When pointed out that in some areas, the retail price of onion was as high as Rs 70-80 per kg, he said, it could be from the old stock whose prices were high.

�Unless there are rains at Nashik, we hope the prices would slide in the next few days. Even today, the wholesale prices in the city during the morning hours was high and it came down towards the evening,� he said, adding that the prices cannot be fixed given the dynamics of the market.

The prices of potato too are likely to come down as the produce from Gujarat and Rajasthan have started coming. Prices of potato in the retail have also crossed Rs 30-35 per kg.

During the meeting today, the government sent out a note of caution to the traders against malpractices.

�We are very much watchful. All the DCs have been instructed to ensure there is no hoarding or any other malpractices. The district administrations have been asked to hold meetings with traders,� the official said.

The onion prices have shot up in the retail market across the country due to 30-40 per cent decline in domestic production. To ease the prices, the Central government has taken a number of steps, including banning the export of raw and processed onions, imposing stock holding limits on traders besides offloading buffer stock at a cheaper rate of Rs 24.90 a kg to provide relief to consumers.

The government is making efforts to import the commodity.

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