New Delhi, July 4 (IANS). Giving relief to onion farmers, the Central Government has increased the government procurement price by 13 percent. Now the government will purchase onion at the rate of Rs 2,125 per quintal, whereas earlier this price was Rs 1,875 per quintal. The new rate has come into effect from Saturday. The government says that this decision will provide better prices to onion farmers and will also strengthen procurement for price stabilization buffer.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said onion procurement is continuing through NAFED and NCCF for the government’s price stabilization buffer. The revised purchase price will help in increasing the income of farmers as well as creating buffer stock.
According to the government, onion production for 2025-26 is estimated at 307.37 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), which is almost equal to 307.67 lakh metric tonnes for 2024-25 last year. Based on the second advance estimate of the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, the government believes that at present there is no cause for concern regarding the availability of onion in the country. However, as per the general seasonal trend, some increase in prices may be seen.
The ministry said that adequate stocks of onion are available in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and there is no shortage of stored onions at present.
More than 50 thousand metric tons of onion is arriving daily in the mandis across the country, whereas only in Maharashtra this figure is more than 30 thousand metric tons, in which the average model price remains around Rs 18 per kg.
The government says that better quality onion is still present in storage and it will be launched in the market when demand increases. At present the average retail price of onion across the country is Rs 31 per kg.
Onion export also remains at normal level. About 1.50 lakh metric tonnes of onion was exported during June. However, traders believe that the pace of exports may slow down for some time to come, as the new crop from Pakistan and China is available at competitive prices in the markets of Gulf countries, Sri Lanka and the Far East.
The government said that sowing of Kharif onion in Nashik region of Maharashtra is going on with a delay of about 15 days. At the same time, in Chitradurga and Challakere areas of Karnataka, sowing has been done only at about 60 percent of the normal level.
According to the ministry, due to delay in monsoon and below normal rainfall in some areas, some traders have increased purchases for speculative purposes. However, there is no significant pick-up in demand at current prices in key consumer markets.
–IANS
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