Last Updated on 04/09/2024 by Arun jain
The government has prepared a plan to control the rising price of onion. In recent days, onion prices have increased again. In the last one week, the wholesale price of onion has increased by Rs 10 per kg and the retail price has increased by about Rs 20 per kg. The reason for this is the rain in Maharashtra, which is the reason for the increase in onion prices.
Due to this, the price of onion has reached 40 to 45 rupees per kg in the wholesale market and 70 rupees per kg in the market. Wholesale onion sellers fear that onion prices may increase further in the coming days. The ongoing rain in Maharashtra has blocked the roads which are affecting the supply of onions. In view of these conditions, the government may soon release onions from the buffer stock in the open market.
Onions released from buffer stock in open market!
The plan to release onions from the buffer stock in the open market can be done to prevent its price from increasing during the festive season. After releasing onions from the buffer stock, its price is sure to fall, which will provide relief to the general public from inflation. Having sufficient stock of onions in the buffer stock provides an easy way for the government to control wholesale and retail prices during the festive season. Agencies like NAFED and National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India have purchased 0.47 million tonnes of onions from farmers for their buffer stock this year, whereas last year this purchase was 0.3 million tonnes.
The country has ample stock of onions!
The agencies have purchased onions from farmers at the rate of Rs 25 per kg, whereas last year onions were purchased at the rate of Rs 17 per kg. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, due to adequate availability of onions in the market, farmers and traders are expected to have stored about 3.8 million tonnes of onions, which means there is no possibility of shortage of onions in the coming days.
The wholesale market price of onion in Lasalgaon, Nashik, the center of onion trade in the country, was Rs 4400 per quintal, whereas a month ago it was Rs 2680 per quintal. At the same time, due to low production, onion inflation in July was 60.54 percent compared to the same period last year. Onion inflation has been continuously in double digits since July 2023.
Increase in onion sowing
According to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture, onion production is estimated to be 24.21 million tonnes in the crop year 2023-24 i.e. July 2023 to June 2024, which is 20 percent less than last year. So far, Kharif onion has been sown in 0.22 million hectares, whereas last year it was sown in 0.17 million hectares. In such a situation, the government has set a target of 0.36 million hectares for sowing of Kharif onion this year, which is 27 percent more than the 0.28 million hectares reported in 2023. However, the Kharif crop of onion is expected to come in the market by the end of October and in view of more sowing, there is hope of a bumper crop.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)