As crucial state assembly elections approach, laying the groundwork for the upcoming early Lok Sabha election, the Indian government is adopting a range of strategies to stabilize onion prices, which have surged by approximately 20 percent over the past two weeks. To address this, the government has already imposed a substantial 40 percent duty on onion exports and has expanded its onion buffer goal to 500,000 Metric Tonnes (MT), with about 300,000 MT already amassed. The Department of Consumer Affairs has instructed entities like the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) to acquire an additional 100,000 MT each, while ensuring the proper distribution of procured stocks in major consumption hubs. NCCF will use mobile vans to sell onions at a subsidized rate of Rs 25 per kg, aiming to boost retail availability and engage other agencies and e-commerce platforms.
To tackle the situation further, the government has levied an immediate 40 percent export duty on onions until December 31, 2023, while beginning the utilization of buffer onions. NCCF and NAFED are strategically targeting markets with prices above the national average or significantly higher than the previous month. Approximately 1,400 MT of buffer onions have already been dispatched to the specified markets, and traders foresee retail onion prices potentially exceeding Rs 50 per kg by the start of next month, due to the forthcoming October onion harvest.
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