After Tomato And Onion, Soaring Garlic Prices Put Consumers in A Pickle

The Uttar Pradesh government has cited poor garlic production in the state and the effect of cyclonic storm Michaung on the crop in other parts of the country as possible reasons behind its skyrocketing prices that have crossed Rs 400 per kilogram.

Many people in UP say they have been forced to take the popular spice out of the menu. The horticulture department, which oversees the cultivation of garlic in the state, has cited multiple reasons behind the sudden jump in prices. “In UP, winters are considered to be a lean phase for garlic and onion production and this has further widened the gap between demand and supply,” said Dr Vijai Bahadur Diwedi, joint director, department of horticulture and food processing, Uttar Pradesh.

Garlic farming is carried out on around 41,226 hectares of land mainly in the districts of Mainpuri, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Fatehpur, Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Lalitpur, and Jhansi in UP, producing around 2,45,589 metric tons of the crop. The demand for garlic in UP is around 480 lakh metric tons. “Hence, to meet the growing demand for garlic, we have to depend on Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, etc. But heavy rains following the effects of cyclonic storm Michaung have led to low yield in these parts and so the demand for garlic in UP could not be met,” Diwedi said.

However, he said that the UP government is leaving no stone unturned in catering to the needs of the people. It is also setting up retail kiosks in different districts where garlic is being sold at comparatively low prices. Dwivedi predicted that the situation is likely to improve within the next couple of weeks after new produce hits the markets.

The prices of garlic have almost doubled in the past few weeks, say traders. “Earlier garlic was being sold at around Rs 150 to 200 per kilogram. But in recent days, prices have shot up to Rs 430 per kilogram,” said Dheeraj Yadav, a grocer at Chinhat Sabzi Mandi, Lucknow.

Before garlic, the prices of onions were burning holes in the pockets of consumers. The wholesale price of onion reached around Rs 110 per kilogram in the state last month. In June, tomato prices soared across the country, up to 80-120 per kg in the retail market. This forced consumers to cut down on the consumption of these kitchen staples.