“This kind of onion price was last seen in 1999.”
In India, the average price of onions has tripled in the past two months.
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So when Groupon advertised a deal for onions, the overwhelming demand led to the website promptly crashing.
Bloomberg / Getty Images
Onions can now cost up to 100 rupees a kilogram in India, where much of the population uses the vegetable in almost every meal. Food prices have spiked across India due to supply shortages, a depreciating rupee and increased inflation. As a result, the average price of a kilogram of onions has more than tripled in the past two months. On Thursday, Groupon sold 3,000 kilograms of onions in 44 minutes, causing the website to crash. More than 8,000 kilograms were purchased when Groupon continued the sale on Friday before they sold out.
"This kind of onion price was last seen in 1999," said Anur Warikoo, chief executive of Groupon in India, to Al-Jazeera America.
Tsering Topgyal / AP
