Govt raises onion buffer, to sell in retail at reduced rates

New Delhi, August 20

The Centre has decided to procure an additional 2 lakh tonnes of onion to maintain a total buffer stock of 5 lakh tonnes this year and use that for retail intervention, stated an official news release. The announcement comes a day after the government imposed a 40 per cent duty on the export of onions to improve local supplies and check its prices.

For the current 2023-24 fiscal, the target for onion buffer was kept at 3 lakh tonnes, which has already been procured. This buffer stock is being disposed of in targeted markets in select states to improve local availability and check price rise.

The all-India average retail price of onion was about 20 per cent higher as compared to the prices a year ago, according to official data.

“In an unprecedented move, the government raised the quantum of onion buffer to 5 lakh tonne this year, after achieving the initial procurement target of 3 lakh tonne,” stated the release from the Consumer Affairs Ministry.

The Government has asked the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to procure one lakh tonnes each.

The buffer stock is maintained under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) to meet any exigencies, if rates go up significantly during the lean supply season.