Onion price to remain below Rs 80/kg even during peak season: Govt
New Delhi: Even though the delay in harvest of onion of kharif season has impacted the price matrix of the bulbous crop resulting into rise of prices by 50 per cent in the national capital region and other parts of the country, the government is ‘assured’ that prices of the essential food item wouldn’t touch Rs 80/kg mark even during the peak season.
While talking to Millennium Post, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit K Singh said that the ministry has procured over 5.07 lakh metric tonne of onion and all set to procure another 2 lakh MT in the days to come, which will help in keeping the price of politically sensitive food item under control.
According to Singh, the government has disposed off over 1.74 lakh MT of onion in different wholesale markets of the states of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, West Bengal, Assam, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Bihar.
The government has procured over 2 lakh MT onion from Maharashtra and 5,695 MT from Madhya Pradesh and in coming days, the prices of the onion would start declining.
Explaining about the rise in prices, the official said, “The retail price matrix got disturbed due to the fall in arrival of onions in mandis. Still, the price of onion is much lesser in compare to 2021 — when onion prices had crossed Rs 100 mark.”
Currently, the retail prices of onion in the NCR has reached Rs 60/kg from Rs 40/kg a fortnight back due to delayed arrivals of kharif harvest in key producing states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Traders say that prices are expected to be firm in the coming weeks as there are reports of lesser harvest of kharif crops in Maharashtra due to deficient monsoon rainfall in the main growing districts.
The benchmark prices at Lasalgaon, Maharashtra, which is the hub of the country’s onion trade, rose to Rs 3800/quintal on Wednesday from Rs 2350/quintal prevailed two weeks back.
NCCF and Nafed are currently selling onion from the buffer stock of 0.3 million tonne (MT) at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 25/kg to consumers in various areas, including Jammu & Kashmir.
