Even as protests of farmers and traders continued in Maharashtra over the ban on onion exports and MPs from the State urging the Centre to reconsider the decision, the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry said here on December 11 that the steps it had taken are bringing results with the prices of the kitchen staple coming down in both retail and wholesale markets.
Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh dubbed the protests by farmers as “sponsored” by traders and said no onion farmers will face any loss as the Centre has stepped up procurement of the essential vegetable at various markets in Maharashtra and other States.
‘Timely intervention’
Mr. Singh said a section of traders were trying to take the advantage of delay in kharif harvest and timely intervention helped in reducing the price. “The prices might have crossed ₹100 for a kilogram of onion had the government not intervened on time,” he said.
In his detailed presentation to the media on the situation, Mr. Singh said the export of onions was prohibited from December 8 till March next year to ensure availability for the domestic consumers at affordable prices.
“The government took the decision taking into account delay in Kharif arrival, the quantity of onion exported and global situation such as trade and non-trade restrictions imposed by major suppliers such as Turkey, Egypt and Iran. To ensure that farmers are not adversely affected, the government is continuously procuring onions from the farmers under the Price Stabilisation Fund,” the senior official said.
‘Increased buffer stock’
He added that as a message to the market, the Centre increased the buffer stock and directed the cooperative agencies to procure seven lakh tonnes of onion.
“Till date, about 5.10 lakh tonnes had been procured, and procurement of remaining quantity is ongoing. Onions procured by the government are continuously disposed in high price markets through open market sales and direct retail sales to consumers. Out of 2.73 lakh tonnes of onion disposed from the buffer, nearly 20,700 metric tonnes have been sold to retail consumers in 213 cities through 2,139 retail points,” Mr. Singh said.
‘Drop in price’
As a result of taking these measures, the all-India average retail price for onion has been brought down from ₹59.9 per kg on November 17 to ₹56.8 per kg on December 8, the official claimed. When asked whether there was a delay in the governmental intervention as the retail prices are more than double compared to the similar period last year, he denied it saying effective intervention is helping in stabilising the prices.
“The Government is keeping a close watch on the onion crop availability and prices to take necessary measures in the interest of both the consumers and the farmers. The procurement of onions from farmers under the Price Stabilisation will continue to ensure remunerative prices to farmers and both wholesale and retail interventions will continue in high price markets to make onions available to consumers at affordable prices,” he said.
