The rate of onions shot up to Rs.80 to 90 per kg at in the retail market and in spite of the efforts made by the Government by increasing the imports and putting a tab on the exports onions are selling at a rate of Rs.4400 per quintal in the wholesale market at Delhi.

The usage of onions in the food items is drastically reduced in the restaurants in the Northern belt.  The traders at Delhi and Chandigarh say that the produce is not reaching the way it used to from the States of AP, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat which is causing the scarcity of onions to shoot up its price.

The Union Food Ministry is going to hold a meeting with the onions producing States. The meeting will be held at Delhi on 25th of this month to understand the problems in producing and distribution of onions that made it scarce.

Indian kitchens are so used to cook food items with onions that it cannot be imagined to prepare food items without onions to make them savory.  Onion also has medicinal value as naturopaths say.  It cools the body to balance it from the heat generated by the spices for one thing. It instantly cures a person suffering from sunstroke. But above all onions go with every fried item and savories like Sambar etc. It also makes a good salad just to bite along with rotis. It used to be a poor man’s substitute for vegetables.  But now it reached the price of a non-vegetarian food item.

Let us hope that the Food Ministry’s efforts work out well to bring it back to the common man’s reach.

-SriJa