Visakhapatnam: Bigger onions take consumers by surprise

Visakhapatnam: If you are under the assumption that a kilo of onions includes more than a dozen, you are perhaps wrong as the big sized onions imported from Egypt will not be more than six.

On Monday, a new variety of onions dotted Visakhapatnam Rythu Bazaars. The size took the consumers by surprise as they went home with a bag of five to six Egyptian onions at a subsidised rate.

Two weeks earlier, the Marketing Department sourced onions from Krishnapuram that were comparatively smaller than the onions from Egypt.

With the major supply of the 'bulbs' from Kurnool coming to halt due to dip in the production, the Marketing Department officials said that the imported onions offered a relief to meet the demands of the consumers.

To meet the increasing demand of the staple, the Marketing Department has so far sourced onions from Kurnool, Maharashtra, Kadapa and now Egypt. Sharing details with The Hans India, Regional Joint Director of Marketing Department K Srinivasa Rao said, "About 27 tonnes of onions have been imported from Egypt to bridge the demand-supply gap. They were distributed to 13 Rythu Bazaars across Visakhapatnam. One more load is expected to arrive on Wednesday.

Over 128 bags of Egyptian onions were supplied to Seetammadhra Rythu Bazaar. Its Estate Officer K Varahalu says, "Each bag contains 25 kilos. People were surprised to see larger onions in the market and felt happy to carry the new variety home at Rs 25 a kilo."

However, non-subsidised onions are available at Rs 82 a kg in Rythu Bazaars. With a little dip in the cost at retail outlets, the department officials say that the situation would improve further in the coming days.