In an effort to alleviate the burden of soaring onion prices for consumers, the Central government announced on Saturday that Mother Dairy’s Safal outlets in Delhi-NCR will offer subsidized buffer onions at a rate of INR 25 per kilogram starting this weekend. Similarly, the Hyderabad Agricultural Cooperatives Association is extending this initiative to Telangana and other southern states.
Furthermore, cooperative organizations such as NCCF and Nafed have been actively involved in selling buffer onions at subsidized prices on behalf of the central government. Nafed has established 329 retail points, including mobile vans and station outlets, across 55 cities in 21 states, while NCCF has set up 457 retail points in 54 cities across 20 states to make these affordable onions available to the public.
As of November 3, Kendriya Bhandar has also commenced retail distribution of onions through its outlets in the Delhi-NCR region.
“Safal Mother Dairy will start from this weekend. The retail sale of onions to consumers in Telangana and other southern states is being taken up by Hyderabad Agricultural Cooperatives Association (HACA),” the consumer affairs ministry said in a statement.
The ministry has launched a robust retail distribution of onions from the buffer stock, aiming to alleviate the recent surge in onion prices caused by delays in the arrival of the kharif crop and provide relief to consumers.
The government has retained a buffer stock of 500,000 tonnes of onions for the present year and intends to establish an additional buffer of 200,000 tonnes.
Due to the recent government measures, wholesale prices are showing a declining trend, but it takes time to reflect in retail markets.
According to the statement, the wholesale price of onions in the Lasalgaon market in Maharashtra was INR 4,800 per quintal on October 28. However, by November 3, it had dropped to INR 3,650 per quintal, reflecting a significant 24% decrease within just one week.
“Retail prices are expected to show a similar decline from the coming week,” the ministry noted.
It’s worth noting that in the last week of June 2023, tomato prices surged due to supply disruptions caused by monsoon rains and a white fly infestation. In response, the government stepped in by procuring tomatoes through NCCF and Nafed from producing states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. These tomatoes were then provided to consumers at a significantly subsidized rate in major consumption centers.
Furthermore, in an effort to guarantee the accessibility and affordability of lentils for regular households, the government has introduced Bharat Dal at a subsidized rate of INR 60 per kilogram.
Bharat Dal is offered for retail purchase by consumers, as well as for distribution to the Army and various welfare programs through NAFED, NCCF, Kendriya Bhandar, Safal, and state-controlled cooperatives in Telangana and Maharashtra.