50% jump in onion sowing may help cool down prices in coming months

Govt starts discounted onion sale at Rs 35/kg in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai

The Central government on Thursday said that there was a 49 per cent jump in the kharif sowing area of onion and it will help improve availability of the crucial vegetable in the next few months and also bring down its prices, which have soared past Rs 60 per kg in the Delhi-NCR region.

The government on Thursday also launched the first phase of retail sales of onion at a subsidised rate of Rs 35 per kg to provide relief to Delhi-NCR and Mumbai consumers.

Meanwhile, the government said in a statement that data compiled by the department of agriculture, till August 26th, revealed that 290,000 hectares have been covered under kharif onion as against 194,000 hectares during the corresponding period last year.

Moreover, around 3.8 million tonnes of onions are in the storage of farmers and traders.

It also said that price realisation by onion farmers during the just concluded rabi season has been better compared to last year as mandi prices remain remained in the range of Rs 1,230 – Rs 2,578 per quintal as compared to Rs 693- Rs 1,205 per quintal last year.

Similarly, the average buffer procurement price this year was Rs 2,833 per quintal as against Rs 1,724 per quintal last year.

As store-worthy onions are procured for the buffer, the procurement prices of onions have always been higher than the prevailing modal price.

On the retail sales, the official statement said that NCCF and NAFED, which are maintaining a buffer stock of 0.47-tonne onion on behalf of the government, will undertake the retail sale through their stores and mobile vans.

Onion will be sold at 38 retail points in Delhi-NCR and Parel and Malad in Mumbai.

The onion will also be sold at a subsidised rate on the e-commerce platforms and outlets of Kendriya Bhandar and Mother Dairy’s SAFAL in major consumption areas.

Currently, retail prices of onion are ruling over Rs 60 per kg, depending on the quality and locality in the national capital.

In the coming days, more cities will be covered under the subsidised onion sale.

The second phase, beginning next week, will cover key capital cities like Kolkata, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Raipur. The pan-India sale will happen from the third week of September. 

Average Retail Price of Onions (In Rs/kg)
State	5-Sep	1 month-back	% Change
Delhi	60	45	33.3
Maharashtra	51	38	34.2
West Bengal	51	43	18.6
Uttar Pradesh	45	41	9.8

Source: Department of Consumer Affairs