Govt to sell onions via e-commerce portals to weed out middlemen

New Delhi: In an attempt to make available 'costly' onions at affordable prices, the government has decided to sell the bulbous plant through e-commerce portals.

The Consumer Affairs Ministry has tasked Nafed to procure onions directly from farmers of Nasik and sell it through online portals to eliminate middlemen from taking undue advantage of the crisis.

Notably, the onions which are being sold at above Rs 50 per kg would be available at Rs 34/kg at the portal. According to the sources, the decision in this regard was taken during a recently held meeting under the chairmanship of Consumer Affairs Secretary Avinash Srivastava.

The crucial meeting was attended by Nafed managing director Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, representatives of Big Basket, Grofers and other e-commerce companies.

According to sources, in the meeting, it was decided that Nafed would procure 10,000-tonne onions and distribute it to e-commerce portals for selling the politically sensitive crop at Rs 34/kg. The onions would also be sold through Safal stores.

The Nafed has been tasked to procure onions from wholesale madis of Nashik and Alwar and bring it to the national Capital for distribution among e-commerce companies.

Recently, Union Agriculture Secretary SK Pattanayak had said that onion and tomato prices may come down in the retail markets as the fresh crop would arrive by December end.

According to trade data, onion and tomato prices are ruling in the range of Rs. 70-80 per kg in the retail market of the national Capital. A similar rise in prices is seen in other major cities as well.