Govt releases onions from buffer to curb price surge
NEW DELHI : The government on Friday decided to release onions from the 300,000-tonne buffer created this year as part of the price stabilization fund (PSF) to cool onion prices amid the broader trend of rising vegetable costs. After two years of relative stability, onion prices surged in recent weeks despite record arrivals at mandis (marketplaces for farm commodities).
Prices have risen because of anticipated supply constraints in the coming months amid unseasonal rainfall in key producing states having decreased shelf-life for stored onions. Onion prices shot up to ₹1,700 a quintal (100 kg) from ₹1,370 a week ago in Maharashtra’s Lasalgaon mandi.Onion prices in the retail market went up to nearly ₹30 a kg on 11 August from all-India average price of ₹26 in January, according to the data by the consumer affair’s price monitoring division.
Consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh met managing directors of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) on Thursday and finalized the modalities for the disposal. They decided to release the onion stocks by targeting key markets in states or regions including Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Northeastern states and Andhra Pradesh, to some extent, where retail prices are ruling above the all-India average and where the rate of increase in prices over the previous month and year are above the threshold level.
Disposal through e-auction and retail sales on e-commerce platforms are also being explored. The quantity and pace of disposal will also be calibrated with the prices and availability situations to make onions available to consumers at affordable rates.
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