onion prices are set to soar during the festival season later this year as fewer farmers have planted this crop due to falling prices and poor rainfall, says the Maharashtra governments Agriculture Department.

"only about 18,000 hectares was brought under the onion crop … as against over 80,000 hectares in normal years (a decline of 77.5%)," an official from the Agriculture Department said.

According to onion traders in the main markets of Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon near Nashik, the wholesale prices of the bulb have gradually firmed up over the past few months. "onion prices touched a low in December/January. Since then, the price is going up as the supply dwindled,” says onion trader Avinash Mali.

With onion prices threatening to go up ahead of the assembly elections later this year, the Maharashtra government is stockpiling the bulbs.

State government sources say Nafed will complete the purchase of around 50,000 tonnes of onions by this month under the price stability programme of the Central government. The onions purchased by the Central body will be released in the retail market to tamp down prices later this year when supply is expected to be short, according to officials.