Enough to make your eyes water

摘要

Jagir singh has sold red onions at Kotla market in south Delhi every day for the past half-century. Perched on an upturned crate, wrapped tight against the chill air, he offers pyaz, a staple for much Indian cooking, for 60 rupees ($1.33) a kilo, the most he can remember. Business is brisk but most customers pick up only a small handful of onions. That is just as well: wholesale supplies are tight, he says, and the quality is poor. As India's economy grows by some 9% a year, food prices are soaring. In late December the commerce ministry judged that food inflation had reached 18.3%, with pricey vegetables most to blame. Officials have made some attempts to temper the rise in the past month-scrapping import taxes for onions, banning their export and ordering low-priced sales at government-run shops. But there is no quick fix.