Utility News Desk!!! The government is keeping a close watch on onion prices and will release more onions from the buffer stock in the retail market to stabilize prices amid temporary supply disruptions. According to government data, the retail price of onion in the national capital is Rs 67 per kg, while its all-India average retail price is Rs 58 per kg.
Government will remove onion from buffer stock
“To overcome the temporary disruption in onion supply in some markets in the last 2-3 days due to the festival season and closure of mandis, the government has decided to increase the supply of onion,” a government statement said. Cooperative organization NAFED has ordered 2 racks for Delhi-NCR and one for Guwahati this week. Similarly, to ensure availability of onion in the market, consignment through road transport will also be increased.
Apart from this, the government has also decided to unload onions kept in cold storage in Sonipat to meet the needs of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi etc. The statement said the government is aware of the market developments and is taking appropriate steps to stabilize onion prices.
Fall in retail prices of tomatoes
Meanwhile, the government said that the retail prices of tomatoes are decreasing with the fall in prices in the markets. The weekly average price in Azadpur mandi fell by 27% to Rs 4,000 per quintal and in Pimpalgaon (Maharashtra) the weekly average price fell by 357% to Rs 2,250 per quintal. In Madanapalle (Andhra Pradesh), the weekly average price has fallen 26% to Rs 2,860 per quintal amid a 20% increase in total weekly inflows. In Kolar (Karnataka), the weekly average price has fallen by 27% to Rs 2,250 per quintal.
The total area under potato sowing is expected to increase by 16 percent.
All India average retail prices of potatoes have remained stable at around Rs 37 per kg for the last three months. The weekly average price of potato in Agra market is Rs 1,860 per quintal, which has decreased by 15% during the last week. According to market intelligence, the total area under potato sowing is expected to increase by 16% this year, while the area under potato sowing in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad region is expected to increase by 10%.
In Madhya Pradesh, 80% sowing has been completed and Indore and Shajapur have recorded an 8% increase in sowing area, while in other areas like Ujjain the figure is at par with last year. Sowing has not yet started in West Bengal, but based on seed sales, sowing intentions are reported to be higher than last year.
