Onions to be imported by Centre via Govt agency to tackle inflation

NewsBharati    11-Nov-2017
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New Delhi, November 11: The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution stated that onion import would be done via a government agency, in a bid to keep a check on onion prices in the market.

Also, Ministry states that the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) and Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) would procure 10 thousand tonnes and two thousand tonne of onions respectively from farm areas; including Delhi and supply it to consumers at regulated prices. 

The import quantity has not been decided yet. MMTC will issue tenders. The crop could be sourced from countries like Egypt and China, a senior official told PTI. Earlier, onion prices in the retail market soared 100% in a week.

Onion prices have long been a sensitive political issue in India. A sharp rise in their prices in the past in India has even resulted in the government being toppled.

Onion prices have been on the rise for over a month due to tight supplies. At present, retail prices of onions are in the range of Rs 65-70 per kg in the national capital and other cities.

The tight supply is attribute to a likely drop in area sown under the kharif (summer) onion crop owing to unseasonal rains. It is expected that there could be at least 10 per cent fall in the total kharif output, a senior consumer affairs ministry official said.

Onion Onion Price Ministry of Consumer Affairs SFAC NAFED Inflation Farmer Agribusiness Consortium Farmer Agriculture