Food and consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday said the Union government would release 36,000 tonne of imported onions this month, depending on quantities demanded by states.
The move that comes in the backdrop of a major shortfall in summer supplies of the widely consumed vegetable.
A third of the shipments have already landed and some of it is being dispatched to states, the minister said. The imported onions would be sold on a no-profit-no-loss basis, costing consumers between Rs 49-58, he said.
Consumer affairs secretary Avinash Srivastava said states had initially submitted a requirement of 33,000 tonne. However, some states, such as Assam, Maharashtra, Haryana and Karnataka, withdrew their demand.
Average prices of the vegetable are still high with rs 78 in Delhi and Rs 80 in Mumbai, but they have softened from about Rs 100-115 last month, following imports and fresh harvests.
As on December 31, 2019, the Centre had received a total demand of 14,000 tonne of onion from states, Srivastava said.
“We have imported 12,000 tonne of onion from countries like Turkey and Afghanistan so far,” Paswan said.
According to an assessment of the agriculture ministry, the country’s summer output fell short by 25%.
{{/usCountry}}According to an assessment of the agriculture ministry, the country’s summer output fell short by 25%.
{{/usCountry}}While the government has deployed the Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation, the country’s largest public sector trading body, to contract imports, private traders have imported about 75,000 tonne since the crisis unfolded, Srivastava said.
Onion cultivation is concentrated in states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, regions which witnessed several spells of flooding this summer.