Onion, which once brought tears to the eyes of customers, is now making farmers cry. In many agricultural markets of Maharashtra, the price of onion has fallen below the cost of production. The falling prices of onions have dashed the hopes of farmers.
In the wholesale markets of Maharashtra, onions is being sold from one rupee to 11 rupees per kilogram. However, retail onion traders are already selling it for 25-40 rupees per kg. This irony is a big blow to the farmers.
Minimum price of onions in Solapur Mandi
In Asia’s largest onion market Lasalgaon, the minimum price of onion is ₹ 500 per quintal and the maximum is ₹ 1400. The average price is ₹ 1100 per quintal. But the situation is even worse in other mandis of the state. You will be shocked to hear the minimum price of onion in Solapur Mandi, it has reached just one rupee per kilogram. This is no less than a nightmare for the farmers.
Huge fall in onion prices in just one month
At this time, onions are not getting the right price in other states as well. According to Agmark, the average price of onions in Maharashtra this month is ₹ 733 per quintal, while last month it was ₹ 870. That is, prices have fallen by about 16 percent in a month. On the other hand, onions are selling 29 percent cheaper than last year.
The average price of onions in Delhi-NCR in May is ₹ 1093 per quintal, while the average price in April was ₹ 1364, and the average price in May last year was ₹ 1682 per quintal. Traders say that due to continuous rain for the last few days, onions have become waterlogged. Due to this, the arrival of water-soaked onions is increasing, due to which prices have fallen rapidly. This weather has brought double trouble for the farmers.
Farmers got the benefit of the MSP
On one hand, onions are making farmers cry; on the other hand, the central government has achieved great success in wheat procurement this year. The Center has so far procured 286.6 lakh tonnes of wheat at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) in the current marketing year 2025-26.
This figure is more than last year’s total procurement of 265.9 lakh tonnes, as well as the highest wheat procurement after the year 2022-23. The government has estimated wheat production to reach a record level of 11.53 crore tonnes this year, which has accelerated the procurement.
According to FCI, till May 16, the highest wheat procurement has been done in Punjab at 115.7 lakh tonnes. After this, Madhya Pradesh has procured 74 lakh tonnes, Haryana 70.1 lakh tonnes and Rajasthan 16.4 lakh tonnes. Procurement has also been better in Uttar Pradesh compared to last year. Till now, MSP amount of ₹ 62,346 crore has been given to the farmers, which has benefited about 22.7 lakh farmers. This news has brought some relief to the farmers.