Govt Takes Proactive Steps to Sell Onions at Subsidized Price of Rs. 25 per kg
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 44th Nov. The government has implemented a plan to sell onions at a subsidized price of Rs. 25 per kg in order to protect consumers from the recent increase in onion prices caused by delays in the arrival of the kharif crop.
This is in addition to other measures that have been put in place to ensure that onions are available and affordable for domestic consumers.
These measures include imposing a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of USD 800 per MT, increasing buffer procurement by 2 lakh tons, and continuously selling onions through retail, e-Nam auctions, and bulk sales in wholesale markets since August.
The Department of Consumer Affairs has started selling onions at subsidized prices through retail outlets and mobile vans operated by NCCF, NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar, and other state-controlled cooperatives.
As of November 2nd, NAFED has set up 329 retail points in 55 cities across 21 states, while NCCF has set up 457 retail points in 54 cities across 20 states. Kendriya Bhandar has also started selling onions through its retail outlets in Delhi-NCR, and Safal Mother Dairy will begin this weekend.
The Hyderabad Agricultural Cooperatives Association (HACA) is responsible for selling onions in Telangana and other southern states.
To control price volatility between rabi and kharif crops, the government maintains an onion buffer by procuring rabi onions for targeted release.
This year, the buffer size has been increased to 7 LMT from 2.5 LMT in 2022-23. So far, 5.06 LMT of onions have been procured, and the procurement of the remaining 2 LMT is ongoing.
These proactive measures have already started to show results, as onion prices in the Lasalgaon market have decreased by 24% from October 28th to November 3rd. Retail prices are expected to decline further in the coming week.
In a similar intervention earlier this year, the government procured tomatoes and sold them at subsidized prices when tomato prices increased due to supply disruptions. This helped bring down tomato prices from Rs. 140 per kg to around Rs. 40 per kg.
In addition to onions, the government has also launched Bharat Dal, a subsidized dal (pulses) available at Rs. 60 per kg for a 1 kg pack and Rs. 55 per kg for a 30 kg pack. Bharat Dal is being sold to consumers and supplied to the Army, CAPF, and welfare schemes through various cooperatives.
So far, 3.2 LMT of Chana stock has been allocated for conversion, with 75,269 MT milled and 59,183 MT sold through retail outlets in 282 cities. The supply of Bharat Dal will be increased in the coming days to make over 4 lakh tons available to consumers nationwide.
Comments are closed.