New Delhi : The risk of inflation hitting kitchen costs has increased once again. in the retail market OnionsWith the price already touching Rs 50 to Rs 65 per kg, the crisis may worsen in the coming days. Of the total buffer stock of 1 lakh 20 thousand tonnes procured by the Central Government, approximately 30 per cent i.e. about 36 thousand tonnes of onions have been damaged due to rotting or budding on the spot.
Unseasonal rains have drastically reduced the storage period of onions, leading to disruption of the supply chain just before the festive season. The government has introduced direct market intervention to control rising prices. In this regard, the first special freight train, Kanda Express, carrying 500 tonnes of onions, has left Lasalgaon for Delhi. The train was delayed by nearly 24 hours due to the time taken for sorting and grading. To give relief to Delhiites, the onion will be sold at a discounted rate of Rs 35 per kg through Nafed, NCCF and Central Warehouse outlets.
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Additionally, a consignment of 60 tonnes of onions has already been delivered to the capital by trucks. According to officials, there are plans to run such special trains for cities like Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ernakulam and Madurai in the coming days.
Fears of a major supply shortfall in October
Summer onion harvested in March-April is the main source of food for the country households till October-November. However, the kharif crop has been completely damaged this year. Due to lack of rainfall, while kharif onion is cultivated on an average of 30,000 hectares in Nashik, so far only 370 hectares i.e. only 1% of the area has been cultivated. This will directly affect the arrival of the new crop in the market by mid-November or December. According to experts, if the current stock depletes rapidly, there could be a severe shortage of onion in the market in September and October.
Farmers' stock is also on the verge of exhaustion
This year, the government had set a target of buying 2 lakh tonnes of summer onion, but in reality it was possible to buy only 1 lakh 20 thousand tonnes of onion. More than 90% of these onions came from Nashik. Normally, 20% of onions go bad every year, but this time the figure is estimated to reach 40%. Meanwhile, farmers in Nashik, the country's largest onion producing district, have only 25% of their 2.4 lakh tonne storage capacity left.
Chances of running out of onion stock
Fearing loss and hoping for good prices in the market, farmers started selling their onion in June-July itself instead of waiting for September. It is feared that this remaining stock will be completely exhausted by the end of September or the beginning of October.