"Onion prices are expected to remain high till the new crop arrives in the market," Agricultural Produce Marketing Corporation (APMC) Director Ashok Valuj said here.

Meanwhile in New Delhi, NAFED Managing Director Alok Ranjan speaking to media on sidelines of the cooperative's AGM said the Kharif crop of onion would arrive in the market by October 15, after which the prices would start softening. Ranjan said that onion production is expected to be 15-20 per cent higher in the current season.

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar last week said it was not economical to import onions as it would first have to be brought to Navi Mumbai and then distributed.

The landed cost would be more or less same as what the consumers are currently paying for the commodity.

The civil supplies department has been procuring onion from Lasalgaon of Maharashtra and Kurnool and Cuddapah districts of Andhra Pradesh. So far, the civil supplies department has procured 15,000 metric tonnes in the past six months for supply at subsidised rates to consumers.

According to vegetable trader Gopal Shinde, since the new crop perishes and rots soon efforts are being made by commission agents to jack up the price so that everybody in the market gets a good margin.

This apart, there are other reasons like short supply, heavy rains in Maharashtra and export commitments which have contributed to the price spiral, Shinde said.

In the last two weeks, India's kharif onion cultivating regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh witnessed heavy rains, which has adversely affected the cultivation.

The market price of onion, a water-sensitive perishable crop, fluctuates with the weather. Rain directly affects the quality and output of the crop.

In fact, the Kharif onion cultivating area has increased this year by 30 per cent, but rains have offset this increase.

The increased area of cultivation was expected to bring the price down, a trader said.

However, under the present circumstances, it is expected that onion prices will continue to remain in the present range.