Lucknow, Aug 30 (IANS): Even as tomatoes have stopped seeing red, it is now the turn of onions to set the kitchen budget on fire.

The prices of onion have almost doubled in the last 15 days from Rs 20-25 per kg to Rs 40-45 per kg owing to crop damage and supply chain disruptions in Maharashtra, which is the country's largest supplier of onions.

Onion dealers claim that onion prices could go up to Rs 80 per kg by the end of September.

According to experts, the Rabi yield season, which is sown in December and harvested in April, was adversely affected by heatwaves, erratic rainfall patterns and supply chain disruptions.

As a result, they are not receiving deliveries as scheduled.

The number of trucks bringing in onions has gone down to 30-35 trucks from the earlier 45 trucks per day.

The Rabi production constitutes 60 per cent of Maharashtra's onion crop.

Lucknow, in particular, is feeling the pinch of rising onion costs because the state capital is the hub of Mughlai cuisine in which onion is a main ingredient.

Shamsi, the owner of a popular food chain in the state capital said: "The price of onion directly impacts the basic cost of our dishes because almost all of them require onion in ample measure."