Nafed, other cooperatives bring down onion prices at Rs 25/kg

Nafed and other cooperatives selling onions at subsidised rates have lowered its price further to about Rs 25 a kg in the national capital, with easing of the rate of the root vegetable in the open market.   

Nafed have now lowered the price of onion made available to households in Delhi/New Delhi through its five outlets and mobile vans at Rs 25 per kg, sources in the agri-cooperative said.   

Similarly, other cooperatives like NCCF, Kendriya Bhandar and Mother Dairy have brought down the price of the kitchen staple at Rs 24 per kg in the national capital. 

"The 350 outlets of NCCF, Kendriya Bhandar and Mother Dairy are selling good quality onion at Rs 24 per kg now," NCCF (National Consumer Cooperative Federation) Managing Director M K Khan said.     

Nafed Managing Director Sanjeev Chopra said his organisation might further bring down the rate at Rs 22 per kg soon.   

Food Minister K V Thomas said yesterday that he has asked Nafed and other cooperatives to sell onion in the range of Rs 22-23 a kg in Delhi from February 1. 

The downward trend of onion prices sold by cooperatives is attributed to softening of rate of the veggie in the open market from where they procure it.

When the onion prices had hit the roof at Rs 70-85 a kg in December, Nafed and other cooperatives had stepped in and started selling onions at subsidised rate of Rs 40 a kg.

With improvement of the market, the rate came down to Rs 30 by third week of January before lowering down to about Rs 25 now.

Meanwhile, the wholesale rate of onion remained at Rs 4-17 a kg today, General Secretary of Azadpur-based Onion Merchants Association, Rajendra Sharma said. 

The rate was also low in the main producing region of Nashik in Maharashtra.  

NHRDF (National Horticultural Research Development Foundation), set up by Nafed and which publishes daily wholesale prices of essential commodities like onion, garlic and potato in prominent cities, said that the commodity was sold at Rs 15 per kg in the Lasalgaon wholesale market today, while it was being sold at Rs 14 per kg in Pimpalgaon market.

Fall in onion prices in the wholesale market had some impact on retail markets in the national capital as well, where the rate of the vegetable came down to Rs 35 per kg today compared to Rs 40 yesterday, traders said.