MUSCAT: Onion prices have soared two-fold in Oman in line with global price trends. The Observer spoke to representatives of local stores in Oman for their reactions.
Fatma al Harthy, a store clerk at a store in Muscat, shared that onion prices have not been stable for the last three months. “The price of a kilo of onions was 250-300 baisas previously, jumping to was around 750 baisas two weeks ago and has settled at 600 baisas today.” Another store clerk, Rubya Khalfan al Hosni, shared that the price has risen from 300 baisas per kilo to 700. This prompted the store to reduce the supply of onions from 50 kg per week to less than 30 kg per week due to a slump in demand.
According to Fatma, the onion crisis has limited the choices customers have. “Customers usually prefer Indian and Yemeni onions for cooking but are unable to find any,” she shared.
A customer at the store shared that she longer purchases the same amounts of onions as she did previously, opting instead to reduce the amount of onions she uses in her cooking.
The increase in onion prices can be attributed to major export bans from the biggest produce exporters.
Last December, both India and Egypt, two of the world's leading onion exporters, implemented a ban on onion exports until March 2024 in order to address the issue of rising produce prices.
Yemen, another major exporter of the bulb to the region, recently imposed a temporary ban on onion exports.
According to experts, prices are expected to stabilize by March, as both India and Egypt are expected to resume exporting onions again.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
