The Wholesale Price Index of onion across India during financial year 2024 was around ***. The price index value of onion increased by about ** percent from the base year of 2012. An overall increase in the price index was seen over the years from financial year 2013 in the country. As the wholesale prices effected the retail prices, the price of onions has been part of several public debates due to rising prices.

Wholesale Price: DCA: Monthly Average: Onion: Karnataka data was reported at 1,698.090 INR/Quintal in Nov 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,649.210 INR/Quintal for Oct 2025. Wholesale Price: DCA: Monthly Average: Onion: Karnataka data is updated monthly, averaging 8,887.320 INR/Quintal from Jan 2014 (Median) to Nov 2025, with 143 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8,887.320 INR/Quintal in Dec 2019 and a record low of 919.010 INR/Quintal in Oct 2016. Wholesale Price: DCA: Monthly Average: Onion: Karnataka data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Consumer Affairs. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Price – Table IN.PD: Wholesale Price: Department of Consumer Affairs: Agriculture Commodities: Monthly Average: by States: Onion.

ONION TEARS

It is so wacky that how 1.25 Billion people can’t control the mighty power of insignificant product like ONION? The Small red bulb has power to bring down the government to its knees, be it BJP or Congress, it does not differentiate. We have seen governments crashing in year 1980, 1998 and 2010 mainly due to onion shortage.

This year in September 2020 onion prices rocketed to a new level.

REACTION OF GOVERNMENT

The knee jerk reaction of government is to ban the exports and raid onion traders. Which simply leads to unreliability of Indian exports in international markets and dissuading of small onion traders to exit the onion trade. India on Sep 14 prohibited the export of all varieties of onion except those cut, sliced or in powder form. “The export of all varieties of onion…is prohibited with immediate effect,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification. The ban includes Bangalore rose onions and Krishnapuram onions.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/india-bans-export-of-all-varieties-of-onion/articleshow/78109131.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Content

This dataset has daily/weekly market prices of onion from various markets of India for the year 2020. The data is collected from data.gov.in website. It consists of 9 columns- *Name of State, District, Market, Name of commodity, Variety of onion, Arrival Date, Min Price, Max Price, Modal Price.

Inspiration

Can we kagglers analyze the dataset and do some EDA to find reason behind this problem?

Wholesale Price: Average: Onion: All India data was reported at 1,710.030 INR/Quintal in Nov 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,646.470 INR/Quintal for Oct 2018. Wholesale Price: Average: Onion: All India data is updated monthly, averaging 1,466.910 INR/Quintal from Jan 2009 (Median) to Nov 2018, with 119 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,991.410 INR/Quintal in Oct 2013 and a record low of 765.130 INR/Quintal in May 2009. Wholesale Price: Average: Onion: All India data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Consumer Affairs. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Price – Table IN.PC056: Wholesale Price: Department of Consumer Affairs: Agriculture Commodities: Monthly Average: by Cities: Onion.

In December 2022, the average retail price of onions per kilogram in the Indian city of Kolkata was above **** Indian rupees. In contrast, the average retail price of one kilogram of onions in Delhi amounted to about **** Indian rupees, lower than the national average of nearly **** Indian rupees.

The Indian dried onion market was estimated at $213M in 2024, with an increase of 3.3% against the previous year. The market value increased at an average annual rate of +2.6% over the period from 2012 to 2024; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations being recorded in certain years. Dried onion consumption peaked in 2024 and is expected to retain growth in the near future.

This dataset presents the Onion Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for India from 2012 to 2025, integrating both economic and climatic dimensions that affect onion prices. It is designed to help analysts, policymakers, and researchers understand how rainfall variability and arrivals drive fluctuations in onion prices.

Context

Onion prices in India are highly sensitive to monsoon rainfall and regional arrivals. Poor monsoon performance can lead to supply shortages and sharp price spikes. This dataset merges monthly WPI data from the Office of Economic Adviser (GoI) with rainfall deviation indicators and arrival data from major onion-producing regions.

The Indian onion and shallot market rose remarkably to $8.2B in 2024, increasing by 7.4% against the previous year. In general, the total consumption indicated a prominent expansion from 2012 to 2024: its value increased at an average annual rate of +6.5% over the last twelve years. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded throughout the analyzed period. Based on 2024 figures, consumption increased by +66.6% against 2016 indices.

In 2023, exports of onions (dry) from India surged to 2.5M tons, jumping by 19% compared with 2022 figures.

The dataset contains 8 columns (Years: 2016 - 2022) and 13 rows (Months: January - December) Each cell contains the average price of onions in India (Year and month wise) This data is collected from official government sites related to agriculture (mentioned in the provenance),

In November 2022, the dry onion price totaled $275 per ton (FOB, India), up 9.8% from the previous month.

In fiscal year 2023, fresh onions worth over ************* Indian rupees were exported from India to Bangladesh. Bangladesh was the leading destination country for Indian onions for the past three years. Followed by Malaysia with about *** billion rupees in financial year 2023. India was the second largest onion growing country worldwide.

The Indian onion market surged to $9.9B in 2024, growing by 31% against the previous year. In general, the total consumption indicated a remarkable increase from 2012 to 2024: its value increased at an average annual rate of +8.2% over the last twelve-year period. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded throughout the analyzed period. Based on 2024 figures, consumption increased by +103.2% against 2016 indices.

Retail Price: DOAC: Onion: Karnataka: Bangalore data was reported at 20.000 INR/kg in Mar 2023. This stayed constant from the previous number of 20.000 INR/kg for Feb 2023. Retail Price: DOAC: Onion: Karnataka: Bangalore data is updated monthly, averaging 32.000 INR/kg from Jan 2005 (Median) to Mar 2023, with 208 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 100.000 INR/kg in Dec 2019 and a record low of 4.000 INR/kg in May 2005. Retail Price: DOAC: Onion: Karnataka: Bangalore data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Price – Table IN.PC: Retail Price: Department of Agriculture and Cooperation: Food: by Cities: Onion.

Onions contributed about 249 billion Indian rupees in the Indian economy in fiscal year 2021. This was a slight decrease compared to the previous year. Potatoes made up the largest share of GVO within vegetable production in the south Asian country, followed by tomatoes.

In September 2024, the average retail price for onions in Canada was **** Canadian dollars per kilogram. During the period under consideration, the price steadily increased. Canadian production of the dry onion In 2022, approximately ***** thousand metric tons of dry onions were produced in Canada. The country’s production volume was at its highest in 2014 however, when over ******* metric tons had been produced. In 2022, approximately ****** acres of dry onions were harvested in Canada. Onion production across the globe Large amounts of onions are produced around the world each year. Brazil, for instance, produced just over one and a half million metric tons of onions in 2018. This is, however, only a fraction compared to India’s production volume: during the fiscal year of 2020, the country located in South Asia produced an estimated ** million metric tons of onions.

Dataset

This dataset was created by Aditya Bhagat 1507

Contents

India Retail Price: DCA: Monthly Average: Onion: East Zone: Bhubaneshwar data was reported at 20.330 INR/kg in Nov 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 20.870 INR/kg for Oct 2018. India Retail Price: DCA: Monthly Average: Onion: East Zone: Bhubaneshwar data is updated monthly, averaging 17.800 INR/kg from Jan 2009 (Median) to Nov 2018, with 119 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 50.110 INR/kg in Oct 2013 and a record low of 9.180 INR/kg in May 2010. India Retail Price: DCA: Monthly Average: Onion: East Zone: Bhubaneshwar data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Consumer Affairs. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Price – Table IN.PB059: Retail Price: Department of Consumer Affairs: Agriculture Commodities: Monthly Average: by Cities: Onion.

2577 Global export shipment records of Onion with prices, volume & current Buyer's suppliers relationships based on actual Global export trade database.

India Retail Price: DCA: Daily: Onion: Minimum Price data was reported at 10.000 INR/kg in 30 Nov 2018. This stayed constant from the previous number of 10.000 INR/kg for 29 Nov 2018. India Retail Price: DCA: Daily: Onion: Minimum Price data is updated daily, averaging 10.000 INR/kg from Jan 2010 (Median) to 30 Nov 2018, with 2565 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 45.000 INR/kg in 20 Sep 2013 and a record low of 3.000 INR/kg in 28 Jun 2010. India Retail Price: DCA: Daily: Onion: Minimum Price data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Consumer Affairs. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Price – Table IN.PB012: Retail Price: Department of Consumer Affairs: Agriculture Commodities: Daily: by Cities: Onion.