<p>The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution stated in a statement on Saturday that the government has started an aggressive retail sale of onions at a subsidized price of Rs 25 per kg in order to shield consumers from the recent surge in onion prices. The current increase in onion prices is a result of the kharif crop’s delayed arrival.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-267424″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-cisf-answer-key-2023-is-out-for-tradesman-and-stenographer-applications-download-2.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com cisf answer key 2023 is out for tradesman and stenographer applications download 2″ width=”1303″ height=”867″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-cisf-answer-key-2023-is-out-for-tradesman-and-stenographer-applications-download-2.jpg 275w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-cisf-answer-key-2023-is-out-for-tradesman-and-stenographer-applications-download-2-150×100.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1303px) 100vw, 1303px” title=”Government Starts Selling ONION Retail at Rs 25 Per Kg; Mother Dairy's Safal Stores Will Also Sell 9″></p>
<p>According to a statement from the ministry, “the Department of Consumer Affairs has started aggressive onion disposal through retail outlets and mobile vans operated by NCCF, NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar, and other state-controlled cooperatives at a subsidised price of Rs 25 per kg.”</p>
<p>The action is a further step toward improving the availability of onions domestically. Other measures to achieve this goal include setting a minimum export price (MEP) of $800 per MT, increasing buffer procurement by 2 lakh tonnes—more than 5.06 lakh tonnes have already been procured—and continuing to dispose of onions through retail sales, e-Nam auctions, and bulk sales in wholesale markets starting in the second week of August.</p>
<p>According to the announcement, NAFED established 329 retail points—a combination of fixed locations and mobile vans—for the retail sale of subsidized onions in 55 cities across 21 states by November 2.</p>
<p>Likewise, NCCF has established 457 retail locations in 54 cities around 20 states. Additionally, on November 3, 2023, Kendriya Bhandar began selling onions at retail locations around the National Capital Region (NCR), and this weekend, the Safal Mother Dairy will open.</p>
<p>Hyderabad Agricultural Cooperatives Association (HACA) is taking up the retail selling of onions to customers in Telangana and other southern states, the statement said.</p>
<p>By purchasing rabi onions for a later calibrated and targeted release, the government keeps an onion buffer in place to manage the seasonal price volatility between the rabi and kharif harvests. The buffer size was increased from 2.5 LMT in 2022–2023 to 7 LMT this year. Up till now, 5.06 LMT of onions have been purchased, and the remaining 2 LMT are now being purchased.</p>
<p>The ministry said that onion prices in the benchmark Lasalgaon market dropped by 24% from Rs 4,800/qtl on October 28, 2023, to Rs 3,650/qtl on November 3, 2023, indicating that the government’s proactive initiatives are beginning to pay off.</p>
<p>It further said that a similar drop in retail pricing is anticipated in the next week.</p>
<p>In June of this year, when tomato prices skyrocketed as a result of unpredictable rainfall, the government also offered tomatoes at reduced prices. The high, all-India average retail price of Rs. 140 per kg during the first week of August was reduced to around Rs. 40 per kg by the first week of September 2023 by retail action.</p>
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Government Starts Selling ONION Retail at Rs 25 Per Kg; Mother Dairy’s Safal Stores Will Also Sell
