NCCF will sell onions at retail price of Rs 25 per kg from today; govt raises onion buffer to 5 lakh MT

On Sunday, the government announced that the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) will sell onion to retail consumers at a subsidised rate of Rs 25 per kg through retail outlets and mobile vans of NCCF from Monday.

After achieving the initial procurement target of three lakh metric tonnes, the government also announced that it had raised the quantum of onion buffer to five lakh metric tonnes this year.

To achieve the additional procurement target alongside calibrated disposal of the procured stocks in significant consumption centres, the Department of Consumer Affairs has directed the NCCF and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) to procure 1.00 lakh tonnes each, said a release from Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

Apart from releasing in major markets, onions from the buffer are also being made available to retail consumers at a subsidised rate of Rs.25/- per kg through retail outlets and mobile vans of NCCF from Monday, August 21 2023, it added.

“Disposal of onions from the buffer has commenced, targeting major markets in States and UTs where retail prices are above the all-India average and/or are significantly higher than the previous month. As on date, about 1,400 MT of onions from the buffer has been dispatched to the targeted markets and are being continuously released to augment the availability,” Ministry said.

In the coming days, the retail sales of onion will be suitably enhanced by involving other agencies and e-commerce platforms.

These steps by the government will benefit the farmers and consumers by assuring remunerative prices to the onion farmers while ensuring continuous availability to the consumers at affordable prices.

As the retail inflation for farm and rural workers surged to 7.43 per cent and 7.26 per cent, respectively, in July compared to 6.31 per cent and 6.16 per cent in June this year, farmers have been facing the burnt of it. This inflation is also a result of higher prices of certain food items owing to the supply chain disruption due to the monsoon.

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