Rain causes shallot prices to go up in Maduari market

MADURAI: The price of shallots (small onion) has shot up in the Madurai market by almost two-fold due to poor arrival. As a kilogramme of shallots was sold at Rs 90 in the retail market on Monday, traders stated that the recent heavy rainfall has spoiled the new harvest, forcing them to rely on old stocks. The lack of proper cold storage facilities add to the misery of the traders, who find it difficult to store the stocks.

While the price of shallots were around Rs30-Rs 50 per kg in retail, and much less in the wholesale market last week, on Monday, shallots were sold at Rs 60 per kg in the wholesale onion market, and at Rs 90 per kg in retail at the Mattuthavani Central Market. Whereas, among small traders, the prices went above Rs 100 per kg across the district.