This was because of the closure of retail shops and factories after the nationwide lockdown was imposed to prevent spread of Covid-19, and a sharp increase in the metal's price.

After China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong earlier this month, the United States on July 14 withdrew the special status granted to Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada followed suit.

In most cases, however, retail consumers are paying higher prices in the absence of direct procurement from aggregator or farmers.

With the gradual opening up of shops, hotels, restaurants and catering services with limited number of participants, milk consumption has improved by 5-10 per cent from the lowest level.

Branded and packaged edible oils are currently selling at around 50 per cent premiums over their loose varieties. Hence, products using edible oils would be costlier going forward.

People in the know said plans were afoot to begin the sale of all food grains through online, with a major quantity through auctions that would be later extended to other commodities.

The government of Maharashtra decided to shut operations at APMC Vashi mandi between May 11 and 17 after confirmed cases of Covid-19 surpassed 80 in the APMC and over 450 across Navi Mumbai, where the mandi is located.

Vashi APMC traders see supplies to Mumbai impacted over movement curbs. A number of trucks sent to Mumbai from the market has reduced from 600 per day in recent times to around 300.

Normally, kharif sowing of vegetable seeds starts during the first week of May across the country. Farmers start preparing their fields to make them suitable for kharif sowing during the second fortnight of April. Now, however, faced with the lockdown, farmers are in a hurry to clear their fields of rabi crop and prepare for kharif planting. With a normal monsoon forecast this year, they are doing all they can to take advantage of pre-monsoon showers.

The model or average price for a kg of onion was Rs 6 on Monday -- the lowest in this late kharif and rabi harvesting season, so far. While poorer quality kharif onions traded at Rs 3 a kg, the price of export quality was Rs 9 a kg.

Farmers in the two states have reportedly begun culling chickens, while the state governments have restricted supply of chicken across their borders.

Since 2013-14, buffalo meat had been the largest export item in the agri commodity basket for a few years. Since the coronavirus outbreak in January, Indian exporters have received no fresh orders from Southeast Asian and West Asian countries, which cumulatively contribute nearly 65 per cent of India's overall buffalo meat shipment.

Farmers reported a massive crop damage in transit in addition to huge quantity of the potato left unharvested due to mud in the field.

At the benchmark Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandi, the model onion price shot up to Rs 21.50 a kg on Thursday, as against Rs 16.50 a kg on Wednesday. This was the highest since February 11.

Demand has also jumped from abroad, including the European Union and America.

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Since coronavirus broke out in a few cities in China and a couple of cases were spotted in India as well, rumours claimed for the first time that it was carried by birds.

Data from the Nashik-based National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation showed that onion was trading at at Rs 24 a kg on Tuesday in the benchmark Lasalgaon mandi in Nashik district of Maharashtra. That's a fall of four per cent since Monday and 40 per cent from Rs 40 a kg on January 20, a level not seen since November 6, 2019. It continues to sell at Rs 40-44 a kg in retail markets across the country.

Data compiled by National Collateral Management Services (NCML, a non-government body) shows a 6.3 per cent rise to 109 million tonnes (mt). The Union ministry of agriculture's first advance estimate was 100.5 mt, as compared to 102 mt in last year's fourth advance estimate.

Prices have continued to move up in Delhi's markets, wholesale and retail, on supply worries and spoilage due to record cold weather.