Onion Price Hike Due to hoarding and rain, onion prices go up more or less every year. Now the government has taken a big step to deal with this problem. It is being said that this step will help in stabilizing the prices of onions in the country.
Surendra Prasad Singh, New Delhi. In order to keep hoarders in check and keep onion prices stable, the Central Government has decided to create a strong buffer stock during the onion production season. For this, a target has been given to the cooperative NAFED to procure 2.5 lakh tonnes of onions. Till now there has been a maximum buffer of two lakh tonnes. The procurement agency has also been procuring stock of onions by going ahead in the producing states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Procurement target to be achieved soon
It is possible that by the next fortnight, the procurement target will be completed. The time of onion shortage is between August and October, when onion prices start touching the seventh sky.
Strategy to curb inflation was effective
In the domestic commodity market, where consumers are mild about the inflation of sensitive commodities like onions, there is a political uproar. For this, a few years ago, the Central Government had started Operation Green Scheme for Tomato, Onion and Potato (Tap), whose performance was not very satisfactory. But the strategy of controlling the inflation of these vegetables in the commodity market through buffer stock proved to be effective.
Open ventilated shed became effective
The number of cold stores is sufficient for potatoes, but such warehouses are not becoming useful for onions. For onions, ventilated sheds in the open are effective to a great extent. However, the government is scrambling separately for this. This challenge has been placed before the big technical educational institutions and universities of the country.
Expected to yield 311 lakh tonnes
According to the First Advance Estimate of Horticulture Year 2021-22, onion production will be 311 lakh tonnes as against 266 lakh tonnes last year. But a large part of the onion is lost during harvesting.
Stocking onions a big challenge
Apart from this, stocking onions is a big challenge, in which heavy losses occur. Whereas the consumption of onion in households varies from 165 to 170 lakh tonnes. When the prices of onion reached the seventh sky, whenever the government imported it, it has never been more than 45 to 46 thousand tonnes. That is why the government has made up its mind to increase the buffer stock to more than 2.5 lakh tonnes.