The government on Sunday announced that it has raised the quantum of onion buffer to five lakh metric tonne this year, after achieving the initial procurement target of three lakh metric tonne.
Consumer affairs department has also directed National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.(NAFED) to procure around one lakh metric tonne of onions to further achieve the additional procurement target.
Alongside procurement the said bodies will retail onions at Rs 25 per kg through outlets and mobile vans of NCCF from August 21 2023.
"Retail sale of onion will be suitably enhanced in coming days by involving other agencies and e-commerce platforms," the government said in a release.
Earlier last week, amid rising prices of onions in parts of India, the central government had started releasing the staple vegetable from its buffer stock.
As per latest information provided by the government, disposal of onions from the buffer has commenced, with major markets States and UTs as targets. The targeted markets are where the retail prices are above the all-India average and/or are significantly higher than the previous month.
"As on date, about 1,400 MT of onions from the buffer has been dispatched to the targeted markets and are being continuously released to augment the availability," as per the release.
According to the official data, all-India average retail price of onion was ruling 19 per cent higher at Rs 29.73 per kg on Sunday compared to Rs 25 per kg in the year-ago period. In Delhi, retail price of onion has increased to Rs 37 per kg from Rs 28 per kg in the said period.
The buffer stock is maintained under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) to meet any exigencies, if rates go up significantly during the lean supply season. The government had maintained a buffer onion of 2.51 lakh tonne during the 2022-23 fiscal.
Source Name :Economic Times