Consumers may have to wait a bit longer to see any significant drop in the price of onions as rains have hampered harvesting in onion growing regions of Maharashtra, the largest producer of the country. Though the 2013 kharif production in the State is good, rains in the onion districts including Satara, Dhule, Jalgaon and Nashik over the last few days have prevented harvesting of the crop, and, hence, led to prices remaining firm.

Wholesale prices at the Lasalgaon wholesale market, which sets the pace for onion prices across the country, ranged at Rs 4,200-4,500 a quintal on October 7, 2013. B.Y. Holkar, Secretary, Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee, Lasalgaon, said that 150 trucks arrived today and supply stood at 2,000 quintals, which is an improvement over last week when it had dropped to 1,500 quintals.

Meanwhile, sowing has begun for the late kharif onion crop in Maharashtra, while that for the rabi crop, which ranks the highest on the storage quality, will begin in mid November and continue till the end of December.