Indian govt ready to rein in on onion prices during Diwali

The Indian government is prepared to rein in onion prices especially during the Diwali period. Officials believe the prices of onions are expected to come down with the arrival of the kharif crop in the markets.

The government currently has 5.07 lakh tonnes (lt) of buffer stock of onions. To strengthen it further, it is additionally procuring 2 lt taking the total stock to about 7 lt, said Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Consumer Affairs Ministry. He said already about 1.74 lt have been infused mostly in wholesale markets to cool down price. This has been broadly done in 16 States which include Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal.

The government will infuse more stocks in November during Diwali season in the wholesale and retail markets to check on any price spikes due to higher demand.

Singh said onion prices are expected to come down with the arrival of kharif crops in the markets. Prices are likely to see significant dip by November-end. The kharif onion crop has been delayed this year because of erratic rainfall in parts of the country.

Retail price of the bulb was reported to be less than ₹36.37/kg in 228 centres of the country. The commodity’s retail price was in the range of ₹36.37-50 a kg in 274 centres and higher than ₹50 in 43 centres of the country. North-Eastern states of Nagaland and Mizoram have witnessed highest price trends.