The central government on Friday announced it will release onion from its buffer stock in the targeted regions with immediate effect to ensure prices remain under check until the new crop arrives from October onwards, the PTI said. The Centre is exploring several options for disposal of onion: e-auction, e-commerce as well as through states at discounted rates via retail outlets of their consumer cooperatives and corporations, it said, while it is currently maintaining 3 lakh tonnes of onion under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) to meet any exigencies, if rates go up significantly during the lean supply season.
Onion prices, as per the government data, have started inching up slightly as all-India retail price of the key kitchen staple was available at Rs 27.90 per kilogramme on August 10, higher by a little over Rs 2 per kg in the year-ago period. "We will release onion from the buffer stock immediately," Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said. The modalities for the disposal of onion has been finalised after discussions with the officials of cooperative NAFED and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF) on August 10, Singh said.
The ministry has said it will release the onion stocks by targeting key markets in states or regions where retail prices are ruling above the all-India average and also where the increase in prices over previous month and year are above the threshold level. The quantity and pace of disposal will also be calibrated with the prices and availability situations with the objective of making onion available to consumers at affordable prices, it said.
Apart from market disposal, it has also decided to offer state governments at discounted rates for sale through retail outlets of their consumer cooperatives and corporations. Rabi onion harvested during April-June accounts for 65 per cent of India's onion production and meets consumers' demand till the kharif crop is harvested in October-November.
In current year, a total of three lakh metric tonnes of onion has been procured for the buffer, which could be enhanced further, if situation demands, the ministry noted.
NAFED and NCCF had procured 1.50 lakh tonnes each of rabi onion during June and July from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. This year, irradiation of onion had also been taken up on pilot basis in collaboration with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre with the objective of minimising storage loss. About 1,000 tonnes had been irradiated and stored in controlled atmosphere storage.
The annual buffers have been built by procuring onions from rabi harvest for release in major consumption centres during the lean season. Onion buffer size has been tripled in past four years; from one lakh tonnes in 2020-21 to three lakh metric tonnes in 2023-24. "The onion buffer has played a key role in ensuring availability of onion to the consumers at affordable prices and in maintaining price stability," the ministry added.