Govt for cold chain mechanism for regular fruit and veg supply

Faced with challenges of sudden spurt in prices of agri products like in the case of onion, government today said it is planning a cold chain mechanism to move vegetables and fruits in areas of short supply.

Stating he was no "magician" to predict when onion prices would cool, Minister of State for Food K V Thomas said the planned cold chain mechanism for such food essentials were aimed at tackling situations like the current steep rise in prices of the kitchen staple due to short supply.    

"The government is holding meetings for putting in place a comprehensive cold chain mechanism for storing fruits and vegetables", he told reporters on sidelines of National Consumers Day function.

The minister blamed the market forces for "sharp fluctuations" in the onion prices in some parts of the country.

Onion prices which was ruling at Rs 10-15 in Delhi on December 1 in retail rose to around Rs 35 a kg till December 15-16 and suddenly heightened to Rs 70-80 a kg since Saturday last," he said. 

Similarly, prices in Chennai, Coimbatore and some other parts of the country showed sharp variation within the current December month itself, he added.

The minister said the government has initiated several corrective measures like banning export of onion and abolishing import duty on the produce.

It has also asked the state governments to crackdown on hoarders.

Asked when the prices of onion would come down to a comfortable level, Thomas said he was not a magician to make a such a prediction but that the government was taking all measures to cool prices of the staple vegetable.