Normally people get tears in their eyes when they chop onions. But now even coming to know about the price brings tears to their eyes. The price of onions is sky rocketing. People are helplessly turning their eyes away from this essential ingredients of Indian food.
The rise of onion prices is being attributed to the hostile climatic conditions that led to the damage of crops. It is said that hailstorms in the month of March spoiled the crops in the Nasik region. Therefore,the arrival of fresh stock of onion had the shortfall. But looking at the quantum of the price jump, it appears that There are other factors too, contributing to the current crisis. One of the most commonly found cause is the hoarding and black marketing. The moment this news spreads that there is a short supply of any commodity, the hoarders become hyper active and suppress the stock right there. So the natural scarcity is worsened by the artificial scarcity. Since onions are not very perishable commodity, hoarders take maximum advantage.
Whatever may be the case, the ultimate price is paid by the common man. The worst affected is the poor who normally rely on onions as the replacement for other costly vegetables. Costly onions make them find another substitute for their survival.
There have been corrective actions on the part of the government by raiding the places of hoarders and blocking the exports. But until the fresh yields of the onions reach market, people will continue to think multiple times before buying the scarce onions.