The government is left with about 25,000 tonnes of onion stock in its buffer that will get exhausted in the first week of November, cooperative Nafed Managing Director Sanjeev Kumar Chadha said on Friday.
Currently, Nafed is offloading onion buffer stock in the market to boost domestic availability and check onion prices which surpassed Rs 75 per kg in some parts of the country in the last few weeks.
This buffer stock of onion is created and maintained by Nafed on behalf of the government to be used for interventions in times of onion crisis. For the current year, the cooperative purchased about 100,000 tonnes of onion for the buffer and the same is being offloaded now.
"So far, 43,000 tonnes of onion has been disposed of from the buffer stock. After some wastage, about 25,000 tonnes onion is left which will be available till the first week of November," Chadha said in a press conference where the government announced stock limits on onion traders to check price rise.
Presently, Nafed is offloading onion from the buffer stock in both wholesale and retail markets across the country. It is also offering states at Rs 26 per kg plus transportation charges for retail intervention, he said.
Chadha said the cooperative is maintaining the onion buffer stock in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
The government has taken a series of measures to check rising prices of onion.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU