Cabinet Secretary discusses soaring onion price with Chief Secretaries of 11 states, asks to impose stock limit on traders

In view of the soaring prices of onion across the country, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Monday chaired a meeting with Chief Secretaries of 11 major onion producing states to review the issue of rising prices.

The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution informed that in a video conference held with Chief Secretaries of 11 major onion producing states, the Cabinet Secretary was briefed about the various steps being taken to tackle the rising price of onions.

The Chief Secretaries fro Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana participated in the video conference.

"The Cabinet Secretary directed the States that the overall availability of onions has to be beefed up, considering the prolonged period of shortage, to stabilise the prices," said the press release.

The states were directed to maintain considerable buffer stocks, impose stock limits on traders and to ensure strict action against hoarding.

The Centre will import 11,000 metric tonnes (MT) of onion from Turkey in addition to 6,090 MT from Egypt, in the backdrop of soaring onion prices in the Indian retail market.

According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India has placed the order, which will begin arriving in India later this month, while from Egypt the consignment will start reaching from mid-December.