Onion prices at near two-year highs on weak monsoon rains
Lasalgaon / New Delhi, Aug 03 (ANI): The price of onions, a staple that has sparked protests in the past and toppled state governments, has jumped to its highest in nearly two years and could fuel food inflation as scant rain delays planting of saplings. At India's largest wholesale onion market of Lasalgaon in Maharashtra, the average price has leaped 54 percent in two weeks to 2,550 rupees per 100 kg, its highest since November 2013.A trader, Sohanlal Bhandari, said the prices are likely to jump further. Unseasonable weather, hoarding and price manipulation have in the past led to dramatic price rises, and the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to avoid the fallout that had hit the state governments of Delhi and Rajasthan. Food and Consumer Affairs Minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, blamed the state governments for the rise in onion prices.
