New Delhi. The Central Government has given relief news for the people troubled by the rising prices of onion. The government says there is no shortage of onions in the country and there is enough stock available to meet the increasing demand during festivals. To control the prices, the process of releasing onions from the buffer stock into the market has been started.
The average retail price of onion in the country on Wednesday was around ₹ 46.74 per kg. In the last one month, prices have increased by about 35 percent and compared to last year by about 63 percent. According to the government, some increase in prices due to increase in demand during festivals is normal, but the situation is being constantly monitored.
Kanda Express reaching Delhi with 450 tonnes of onion
To increase the supply of onion in Delhi, a special goods train 'Kanda Express' has been dispatched from Lasalgaon in Nashik, Maharashtra. About 450 metric tons of onions are loaded in this train with 21 bogies. The train will reach Adarshnagar station in Delhi. The government had earlier planned to send more onions than this, but due to delay in packing, currently only about 450 tonnes of onions were sent.
Sale in Delhi at the rate of ₹ 35 per kg
The central government has started the sale of buffer stock onion in Delhi at the rate of ₹35 per kg. Apart from the mobile vans and outlets of NCCF and NAFED, onions are also being made available to the consumers through Safal and Kendriya Bhandar. According to the government, along with Delhi, government onion is also being supplied to cities like Lucknow, Patna, Varanasi, Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Jammu, Amritsar and Chandigarh.
Government has enough buffer stock
According to government estimates, onion production in the country could be around 307.37 lakh tonnes in 2025-26. Apart from this, the government has a buffer stock of about 1.21 lakh tonnes of onion. In such a situation, the Centre's focus is on controlling prices by increasing additional supply in the market and providing relief to the common people during festivals.