On Sunday, the government declared an increase in this year’s onion buffer to five lakh metric tonnes, following the successful attainment of the initial procurement goal of three lakh metric tonnes.
The Consumer Affairs Department has additionally instructed the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) to secure approximately one lakh metric tonnes of onions. This directive aims to further fulfill the supplementary procurement objective.
In conjunction with the procurement efforts, these organizations will make onions available to consumers through NCCF outlets and mobile vans starting from August 21, 2023, at a price of INR 25 per kilogram.
“Retail sale of onion will be suitably enhanced in coming days by involving other agencies and e-commerce platforms,” the government said in a release.
During the previous week, in response to escalating onion prices in certain regions of India, the federal government initiated the release of the essential vegetable from its reserve supply.
According to the most recent data furnished by the government, the distribution of onions from the reserve has initiated, focusing on prominent markets in various States and Union Territories. These specific markets have been selected based on their retail prices surpassing the national average and/or exhibiting notable increases compared to the previous month.
“As on date, about 1,400 MT of onions from the buffer has been dispatched to the targeted markets and are being continuously released to augment the availability,” as per the release.
Based on official statistics, the nationwide average retail cost of onions stood at INR 29.73 per kilogram on Sunday, marking a 19 percent increase compared to the price of INR 25 per kilogram during the corresponding period a year ago. In Delhi, the retail price of onions has risen from INR 28 per kilogram to INR 37 per kilogram within the same period.
The reserve supply is upheld within the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) to address unforeseen circumstances, in case prices surge notably during periods of limited supply. In the fiscal year 2022-23, the government upheld a buffer stock of 2.51 lakh tonnes of onions.