Mumbai may witness a sharp spike in onion prices ahead of Diwali, with traders warning that retail rates could climb to ₹60-70 per kilogram due to crop damage caused by extreme heat and unseasonal rainfall. The warning has come from traders and officials at the APMC Onion-Potato Market in Navi Mumbai, one of the city’s largest wholesale supply hubs.
According to traders, nearly 80 per cent of the onions currently arriving at the wholesale market are damaged, leaving only a small portion fit for retail sale. They said excessive rainfall during the plantation phase severely affected crop quality, while the current heatwave conditions are rapidly reducing the shelf life of stored onions inside warehouses.
Market participants warned that if weather conditions continue to remain unfavourable, wholesale onion prices may rise to ₹40-50 per kilogram during the festive season, pushing retail rates in Mumbai to around ₹70 per kilogram.
Traders at the Navi Mumbai APMC said the crisis is hurting both consumers and farmers. Several growers claimed that despite rising labour, transportation, and cultivation costs, farmers are still receiving nearly the same prices they were getting almost a decade ago.
The issue has also reignited concerns over onion price volatility in India, especially during festival seasons. In previous years, heavy rainfall and delayed crop arrivals pushed onion prices in Mumbai and several major cities beyond ₹80-100 per kilogram.
APMC officials linked the current situation directly to climate-related disruptions. They said changing weather patterns, including unseasonal rain and prolonged heat, are increasingly affecting onion production, storage quality, and supply chains across Maharashtra and other onion-producing states.
The concern comes only weeks after wholesale onion prices had fallen sharply because of oversupply and reduced exports linked to geopolitical disruptions in West Asia. In April, wholesale rates at Vashi APMC had reportedly dropped to ₹8-12 per kilogram due to excess domestic stock and export slowdown.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently announced that the Centre had increased the onion procurement price to ₹15 per kilogram amid ongoing protests by farmers demanding better returns for their produce.
Experts say onion prices in India are highly sensitive to weather conditions because the crop has limited storage stability and depends heavily on seasonal harvest cycles. Delayed arrivals of fresh crops combined with spoilage in storage facilities often lead to sudden supply shortages and retail price spikes.
Consumers in Mumbai are already expressing concern over the possibility of another festive-season price surge, especially at a time when food inflation and household expenses remain elevated. Traders said the next few months will largely depend on weather conditions and the arrival of fresh onion stock from major producing regions such as Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, and Solapur.
