Onion prices remained at a high level in the national capital on Monday, at an average price of Rs 78 per kilogram in the retail market, according to government data.
However, the average onion price across India was around Rs 50.35 per kg, while the maximum rate was Rs 83 per kg and the modal price was Rs 60 per kg, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
The minimum rate is Rs 17 per kg.
Local vendors are selling onions at Rs 80 per kg, while the key kitchen item is available at Rs 75 per kg on e-commerce portals Bigbasket and Otipy.
On Saturday, the Center imposed a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of USD 800 per tonne on onion exports till December 31 to increase the availability of the vegetable in the domestic market.
The USD 800 per tonne MEP translates to about Rs 67 per kg. The MEP is available for all onion varieties, except Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram onions, and for sliced, diced or broken powdered onions.
Additionally, the Center has announced that it will procure another 2 lakh tonnes of onions for the buffer, in addition to the 5 lakh tonnes already procured.
An official statement issued on Saturday said the move to impose MEP will help maintain adequate availability of onions for domestic consumers at affordable prices as the quantity of Rabi 2023 onions stored is declining.
Onions from the buffer stock have been continuously sold at major consumption centers across the country since the second week of August and are also supplied to retail consumers at Rs 25 per kg through mobile vans of NCCF and NAFED.
“Around 1.70 million tonnes of onions have been removed from the buffer so far. The continued procurement and removal of onions from the buffer is being undertaken to moderate prices for consumers while ensuring remunerative prices for onion growers,” the statement said .
Last week, a senior ministry official had said that the delay in sowing of Kharif onions due to weather conditions resulted in less coverage and late arrival of the crop.
The fresh kharif onion should have arrived by now, but it hasn’t.
With stored rabi onions depleting and arrival of kharif onions delayed, there is a tight supply situation resulting in price hike in both wholesale and retail markets, the official said.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)