The Central government on Thursday said it will sell onions at Rs 35 per kilogram at 40 locations in Delhi. Shortly, 40 trucks loaded with onions will be flagged off from Krishi Bhawan. Nidhi Khare, Secretary of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, will flag off the onion-laden trucks.
No shortage of onions in the country: Nidhi Khare
Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, said that there is no shortage of onions in the country and the the recent price surge is due to certain middlemen. “The NCCF and NAFED hold substantial onion stocks. We are transporting onions via train and making them available in Delhi through trucks; additionally, we are coordinating with Kendriya Bhandar and Safal to ensure onions are sold there at affordable rates as well,” she said.
Deepak Agrawal, MD, NAFED, said that the weather conditions have somewhat impacted the onion crop, but there is no shortage of stock. “We will make onions available at 50 locations in Delhi at a price of Rs 35 per kg. Furthermore, we are in talks with the Delhi government to ensure onions are also made available at government ration shops across the city,” he said.
Onions at Rs 35 per kilogram at 40 locations in Delhi
Centre asserts that there is sufficient availability of onions
On Wednesday, the Centre asserted that there is sufficient availability of onions to meet the festive season demand, and has started selling the key vegetable from buffer stock to control retail prices.
The development comes as misleading claims and rumours are being spread related to high food prices to create panic among consumers, the Department of Consumer Affairs said. It should be noted that the all-India average retail price of onion ruled at Rs 46.74 per kg on Wednesday, an increase of 35 per cent from a month-ago level and a 63 per cent rise annually.
Onion prices generally rise during festive season due to high demand
Saying that onion prices generally rise during the festive season due to high demand, the Centre said it is closely monitoring the availability, as well as prices of onions and would take further measures, if required, to protect consumers' interests. The onion production is estimated at 307.37 lakh tonnes in 2025-26 against 307.67 lakh tonnes in the preceding year.
The retail sales are being carried out through 90 outlets and 40 mobile vans of NCCF, 13 outlets and 50 mobile vans of NAFED, and also about 100 Kendriya Bhandar outlets. The Kanda Express initiative has emerged as an effective logistics intervention for moving buffer onions from producing regions to consumption centres. In this fiscal year, transport of onion consignments has begun through Kanda Express from Nashik and is expected to reach Delhi NCR.
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