Onion prices surge in India as heavy rainfall damages crops

Buying vegetables at a small market on the outskirts of Mumbai, Shubhangi Patil laments the recent rapid rise in the cost of everyday essentials, from cooking oil to sugar and now onions, a basic ingredient in most Indian food. After the cost of fuel and edible oils hit record highs, Indian consumers like Patil are likely to be further squeezed by a rally in onion prices after heavy rainfall in the country's key growing regions damaged the summer-sown crop and delayed winter crop planting. Onions are also a politically-sensitive commodity, with price spikes contributing to the fall of more than one state government in the past. "The price of every essential commodity has gone up. Edible oil, sugar prices rose earlier and now onions and tomato prices have more than doubled in a fortnight, how one can manage a monthly budget when incomes are not rising?" Patil said. World's Biggest Onion Exporter India is also the world's biggest onion exporter and the price rise could prompt New ...