Sacks of onions are being unloaded from the "Kanda Express", a dedicated goods train transporting bulk onion consignments from Nashik, at the Adarsh Nagar railway station in New Delhi. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The story so far: Days after sugar prices increased sharply, the price of onion, an essential commodity whose prices are considered a politically sensitive topic, nearly doubled from last year’s. On September 1, the all-India average price was ₹49.59 a kg, registering an over 74% increase from the ₹28.48 on the corresponding day in 2025.On August 1, the price was ₹35.47 a kg. In Kolkata and Chennai, the price has now reached ₹60.. What has worried the Centre is the fact that over the past two weeks, the price has gone beyond ₹70 in certain retail markets, particularly in North India. This increase is unprecedented, and according to some officials, this “sympathetic price rise”, along with that of sugar, has left the Centre searching for reasons behind this surge, as the Opposition says the government has failed to curb the price rise of essentials. Published - September 02, 2026 10:35 am IST
