Government starts retail sale of onions at Rs 35 per kg

On Thursday, the Indian government commenced the retail sale of onions at a fixed price of Rs 35 per kilogram, utilizing buffer stock reserves. The onions will be distributed through mobile vans and the stores of two co-operative federations - National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Consumer Cooperative Federation (NCCF). Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare inaugurated the mobile vans of NCCF and NAFED at Krishi Bhavan.

Khare stated that there is ample production and availability of onions, but the government took proactive measures to stabilize the volatile onion prices, driven by festive demand. The government's intervention aims to enhance consumer access, mitigate price pressures, and ensure sufficient onion supply in the market.

The retail sale commenced on August 27 through 9 NCCF stores, 13 NAFED stores, 100 Kendriya Bhandar stores, 40 NCCF mobile vans, and 39 NAFED mobile vans. The intervention is a response to current market conditions and seeks to improve consumer access, reduce price volatility, and maintain adequate onion supplies.

The "Kanda Express" initiative has bolstered the government's logistics capabilities by facilitating the movement of buffer onions from producing regions to major consumption centers. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, approximately 12,000 metric tonnes of buffer onions were transported via 14 railway rakes to five cities. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, the initiative expanded to 86 railway rakes carrying around 88,000 metric tonnes of onions to 16 cities across the country.

To support the logistics and storage of buffer onions, the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) has been integrated into the mechanism.