Wholesale onion prices at Lasalgaon, the country’s largest onion market, witnessed a significant rise on Monday amid lower arrivals and growing expectations of a further increase in the Minimum Assured Procurement Price (MAPP).Just a week ago, inferior-quality onions sold for ₹700–800 per quintal, while premium-quality onions fetched around ₹1,100 per quintal. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)While inferior-quality onions traded at ₹1,000–1,100 per quintal, premium-quality onions fetched ₹1,800–1,900 per quintal at the Lasalgaon market.“The arrival on Monday was around 10,000 quintals, which is over 15,000 quintals lower than the normal arrivals for this time of the year, as harvesting of summer onions is still underway,” officials of the Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) said.Just a week ago, inferior-quality onions sold for ₹700–800 per quintal, while premium-quality onions fetched around ₹1,100 per quintal.According to APMC officials, a section of onion growers in Nashik has been withholding good-quality stock in anticipation of a further hike in the MAPP by the Centre following a request from the Maharashtra government to ease the financial distress of onion farmers.“Any further increase in the MAPP is likely to push wholesale onion prices higher across Nashik’s onion markets,” APMC officials said.A delegation of ministers led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on May 27 and sought a further increase in the MAPP to stabilise onion prices. At present, central agencies—the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF)—are procuring onions at a MAPP of ₹1,580 per quintal, recently raised from ₹1,285 per quintal.Lasalgaon APMC director Pravin Kadam said onion growers received attractive prices on Monday.“The arrival of good-quality onions remains low, while demand for Nashik onions is steadily increasing across domestic markets. The reduced supply has contributed to the rise in wholesale prices,” he said.Kadam added that rising onion prices in Madhya Pradesh had also influenced market trends in Nashik.“On Monday, wholesale onion prices in Indore markets were around ₹1,700 per quintal. This had a positive impact on prices across all 17 onion markets in Nashik district, including Lasalgaon. However, there is no guarantee that prices will remain stable. The Centre must intervene to ensure price stability,” he said.Wholesale onion prices in Nashik markets have remained depressed since January, triggering resentment among over four lakh onion growers in the district. Farmers have argued that market prices have remained below the production cost, which they estimate at around ₹1,800 per quintal.Dushyant Pawar, an onion grower from Satana taluka in Nashik district, said a further increase in the MAPP would provide much-needed financial relief to farmers.“It is true that some farmers are currently holding back their produce because they expect the Centre to raise the MAPP. A higher procurement price would help farmers secure better returns for their crop,” he said.