Concern in govt over rising onion, sugar prices

10 Oct 2008, 0317 hrs IST, Pradeep Thakur,TNN NEW DELHI: With assembly elections due soon in six states, the sharp increase in prices of onion and sugar is causing concern in the government. The increase, incidentally, coincides with the festival season. In the last few months, while onion prices in the wholesale market have shot up by 132% in Hyderabad, Bangalore has seen a jump of 77% and Delhi almost 40%. Sugar prices too are moving up with exports going up 3-4 times in comparison to the previous year besides a low cultivation of sugarcane and the depleting stock of the commodity. The government is expecting an increase in export of sugar to 5-6 million tonnes in the current year as against 1.5 million tonnes last year. Sources said onion prices are likely to shoot up further as government suspects hoarding of... [read full story]