Amid rising prices of onions in parts of India, the central government has started releasing the staple vegetable from its buffer stock. The central government had earlier decided it will maintain 3 lakh tonne of onions in the 2023-24 season as buffer stock. In 2022-23, the government maintained 2.51 lakh tonne onion as buffer stock. Buffer stock is maintained to meet any exigencies and for price stabilisation, if rates go up significantly during the lean supply season.Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary Food and Public Distribution department in a meeting on Thursday with the Managing Directors of the government’s agricultural marketing agencies — National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) — finalized the modalities for disposal.
“It was decided to release the onion stocks by targeting key markets in states or regions where retail prices are ruling above the all-India average and also where the rates of increase in prices over the previous month and year are above the threshold level. Disposal through e-auction and retail sales on e-commerce platforms are also being explored,” a food ministry release said