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Informist, Friday, Jul. 11, 2025

 

--Govt official: Onion procurement so far since Jun 25 at 50,000 tonnes

--Govt official: To start selling onions procured from farmers Sept onwards

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI - After starting procurement of onions on Jun. 25, more than two months behind schedule, the Centre has so far procured 50,000 tonnes of onions from farmers at market prices under the price stabilisation scheme, a senior government official told Informist. This year, procurement was initially set to begin on Apr. 25, Informist had exclusively reported.

 

The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India and National Consumers Cooperative Federation of India have procured most of the produce from farmers in Nashik, and are now likely to expand their procurement to other districts of Maharashtra and select locations in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

 

The Centre has leased a warehouse in Sonipat, Haryana, with 12,000 tonnes capacity, with an aim to keep prices of the commodity low in the national capital and ensure swift supply when needed. This stock, according to the official, will be distributed through stores such as Safal. "Pan-Delhi, Safal stores need about 60 tonnes of onions a day. Thus, 10,000 tonnes should be more than enough to sustain the market," an official had told Informist on Apr. 30.

 

The consumer affairs ministry has set a procurement target of 300,000 tonnes for buffer stocks for the year ending March, sharply lower than last year's procurement of 470,000 tonnes. Of the target for this year, 200,000 tonnes, or 66%, is slated to come from Nashik. The rest will be sourced from other districts in Maharashtra, including Pune, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Latur, and Aurangabad. Procurement was planned to be gradual, with 10% of the total quantity to be procured in April, 45% in May, and the remaining 45% in June.

 

According to an internal government circular, the procured onions will be sold in the market starting August in a phased manner: 20% in August, 30% in September, 30% in October, and the remaining 20% in November. However, according to the official, this is a tentative plan and will be reviewed based on factors such as festival demand, market price trends, and the shelf life of onions, to ensure a steady supply and keep prices stable throughout the period. "We will definitely begin offloading the produce in the market September onwards," official said.

 

This year, the government doesn't actually see the need to procure onions, the official said. "We are not seeing any significant seasonal price rise in the commodity this year on the back of higher kharif arrivals, which will likely begin to flood the market sooner than usual," the official said.

 

Estimates by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare peg production of rabi onions in 2024-25 (Jul-Jun) at around 22.7 million tonnes, up 18% from the previous year. Last year, the government had procured as much as 470,000 tonnes of rabi onion for the price stabilisation buffer and started releasing the stock from Sept. 5 through subsidised retail and bulk sales in major mandis across the country. Bulk shipment of onions was also sent to Chennai and Guwahati, where prices continued to be elevated. Bulk shipments of the commodity are also likely towards the end of the disbursal period this year as shelf life of the commodity decreases.

 

Onion prices tend to increase during the lean period of September to December due to the gap between rabi and kharif crops. It is during this time that the consumer affairs ministry steps in to control the rise in prices. The current all-India average price of onion is INR 28.43 per kg, up 11% on month.  End

 

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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