Ram Vilas Paswan asks Shah to intervene after state govts refuse to purchase onion

As onion prices in India soared ten-fold this year, the state-run MMTC is importing onion on the behalf of the government, which has decided to buy 1.2 lakh tonnes from the overseas market to increase domestic supplies. The government is also facilitating private imports as well. However, the state governments have been reluctant to purchase the staple.

Paswan said the government is importing onions through state-owned trading agency MMTC and private players are also being encouraged. He said due to continuous rain across several parts of the country, particularly in major onion growing states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the crop has been badly damaged.