NEW DELHI: Food minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said that prices of essential commodities are stable and likely to remain so in the coming festive seasons while the recent spurt in onion prices is being curbed through releasing the government’s stock.
“Keeping food inflation under control is a priority of the government, and various direct interventions through price stabilisation measures have played an important role in bringing down inflation in recent months,” Joshi said after launching subsidised retail sale of onion at Rs 35/kg from the government’s buffer.
The government agencies such as Nafed and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) has commenced selling onion in Delhi region & Mumbai and the pan-India sale will start from the third week of September. The sale will continue for next two months.
The modal retail prices of onion was Rs 45/kg as per the department of consumer affairs’s price monitoring cell while in several areas in Delhi, retail prices of the staple vegetables has crossed Rs 60/kg. Retail food inflation had dropped sharply to a thirteen months low to 5.42% in July 2024 on year.
Meanwhile, consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare said there is sufficient stock of onion available with private as well as government agencies which would be enough to keep prices under control in the coming festive months.
The government agencies such as farmers’ cooperative Nafed and NCCF have procured 0.47 million tonne (MT) of onion for the price stabilisation fund buffer from the rabi 2024 harvest this year from farmers, against 0.3 MT purchased in the previous year.
In addition, 3.8 MT of onions are still stored by private traders and farmers.
The two agencies have purchased onion from farmers at an average price of Rs 28.33/kg this fiscal, compared to procurement of staple vegetables at an average price of Rs 17.24/kg in FY24.
So far, 0.29 million hectare (MH) of kharif onion has been sown as per data till August 26, against 0.19 MH reported last year during the same period. The government has set a target of 0.36 MH for kharif onion this year, which is 27% more than 0.28 MH reported in 2023.
Inflation in onions was 60.54% in July on year because of lower production. Inflation in onion had been double digit since July 2023, when it was reported at 11.78% on year.
According to the agriculture ministry, output of onion in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June) is estimated at 24.21 million tonne (MT), a decrease of 20% compared to previous year. The kharif harvest of onions is expected to enter the market by early November and there is an expectation of a bumper harvest given the higher sowing.
In July, the government had started to sell tomatoes at Rs 60/kg, when the price of this essential commodity had crossed the Rs 80/kg mark. Tomato prices surged due to supply disruptions caused by rains and the open market sale was stopped once prices cooled.
Source: The Financial Express
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