Chennai, Nov 4:
The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday announced the outright cancellation of a major procurement order for 400 metric tonnes of onions placed with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) through the State Cooperative Department. The cancellation was enforced after quality control inspectors found the dispatched stock to be highly sub-standard and unfit for retail distribution.
The bulk onion procurement had been initiated by the state administration as a market intervention measure to stabilize soaring retail onion prices across urban fair price outlets and farm-fresh consumer centers. However, when the consignments arrived at regional transit warehouses, department quality inspection panels detected high moisture damage, rot, and substandard sizing that failed to meet established consumer benchmarks.
Announcing the decision, cooperative officials confirmed that the entire 400-tonne consignment was formally rejected at the delivery points, and payment releases were withheld immediately. The department stressed that public funds would not be utilized for degraded agricultural commodities and that the state will not compromise on quality standards meant for ration card holders and ordinary consumers.
To ensure that the cancellation does not create temporary shortages or spike open-market vegetable prices ahead of Deepavali, the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Department has initiated direct alternate sourcing from primary farmer producer organizations (FPOs) and major wholesale production belts in Maharashtra and Karnataka under strict pre-shipment quality vetting protocols.