Hyderabad: The humble onion is suddenly an expensive staple in Telangana, with prices soaring nearly 300% in less than two months, from around Rs 20 a kg until July to Rs 60–70 now.The sharp rise is being felt not just in Hyderabad but across several districts, squeezing household budgets and pushing up costs for restaurants, hotels and catering businesses. The timing has made matters worse, with the wedding and festive season driving up demand.For the hotel industry, which uses onions in large quantities for biryani, curries, gravies, snacks and other preparations, the price spike is adding significantly to kitchen costs.Households, too, are feeling the pinch. Most retail shops are now selling onions at around Rs 70 a kg.“Just a couple of days ago, I bought 20 kg of onions for Rs 1,200 to prepare food for a birthday party. A month ago, I was paying only Rs 20–30 a kg in the retail market. The sudden increase has pushed up the overall cost of cooking,” said Santhosh Kumar, a Begumpet resident.Supply squeezeTraders attributed the sudden escalation primarily to a sharp drop in arrivals from major onion-producing regions. They said crop failure in Kurnool and crop losses in Karnataka, linked to poor rainfall, had hit supplies.“Hyderabad usually receives at least 50 truckloads of onions a day, with each truck carrying around 25 tonnes. The consignments come mainly from Karnataka and Maharashtra, besides a few pockets of Andhra Pradesh. However, arrivals have fallen to around 30 lorries a day over the past week,” said Vishnu, an onion trader from Old Malakpet.Traders expect the supply crunch to persist for at least another month, until fresh arrivals from Karnataka improve. Retailers said prices could soften once supplies from producing states resume and market arrivals pick up.But with seasonal demand remaining strong, consumers may have to brace for expensive onions for a few more weeks.
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