Even as the onion price has soared to Rs 120 per kg in the State, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain has stated that the rate is likely to decline by this December-end or January first week next after harvest of the new crop.
The price in open market in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack has surged from Rs 90 to Rs 120 in a couple of days.
The Minister said the onion is being procured from other States like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh as its production in Odisha is not adequate to meet the demand.
He claimed the Government has opened 256 fair price shops to sell onion at affordable rates, but people from different parts of the State said the vegetable was not available for the last two days.
Notably, traders in the State sell two varieties of onion. The variety procured from Nasik in Maharashtra is sold at Rs 120 a kg, while the one from Andhra Pradesh has been selling at Rs 100, a trader in the Bhubaneswar Unit-1 Haat said.
The traders also expect that the onion price will further increase as the rate at the source point has increased to Rs 11,000 per quintal.
