Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 06: India’s government has released about 4,000 tonnes of buffer onions. Sales covered 17 cities over ten days recently. Subsidised onions are being sold at ₹35 per kg. The intervention aims to ease persistently high onion prices. Fresh kharif crop arrivals from October could reduce supply pressure.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare confirmed the sales figures on Sunday. The Centre holds 1.21 lakh tonnes of onion buffer stock. This stock is managed jointly through NCCF and Nafed. Both agencies oversee transport from producing states to markets.
Subsidised sales target price-sensitive cities at ₹35 per kg. This rate does not apply across the entire country. Khare said buffer onion quality matched private trader offerings. She noted prices have fallen slightly due to distribution efforts.
Onions move via a dedicated rail service called Kanda Express. Trucks also help transport bulk buffer stock consignments nationwide. Delhi and Chennai have already received Kanda Express shipments. A third rake was being loaded for Guwahati recently.
NCCF Managing Director Anice Joseph Chandra reported separate sales figures. NCCF alone sold 1,500 tonnes of buffer onions so far. Retail sales remain focused on the ₹35 per kg rate. Several state governments have expressed interest in this scheme.
NCCF is partnering with states through multiple retail channels. These include NCCF stores, mobile vans, and cooperative societies. Retail intervention spans Delhi-NCR, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Kerala. Rajasthan, Punjab, Odisha, and other states are also included. The Central Warehousing Corporation handles sorting, grading, and packing logistics.
Chandra attributed a ₹2-3 per kg price fall to interventions. Consumer Affairs Ministry data showed retail prices at ₹50.79 per kg. This is for September 5, still above late-August levels. On August 28, the comparable average price was ₹48.50 per kg.
City-wise, Delhi recorded ₹58 per kg on September 5. Mumbai stood at ₹53 per kg during the same period. Chennai reached ₹63 per kg, while Ranchi remained lower. Ranchi’s retail price was ₹40 per kg that day. Average wholesale prices across markets stood at ₹42.79 per kg.
Officials noted rabi crop harvesting suffered damage from untimely rains. This affected onions typically stored for later-year release. However, the new kharif crop outlook currently looks promising. Fresh arrivals are expected to begin from mid-October.
These kharif arrivals could ease ongoing supply pressure further. Combined with buffer-stock sales, officials hope for continued price relief. The coming weeks will show whether pressure meaningfully eases nationwide.
