Supply from Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Afghanistan to meet shortfall
Worried over skyrocketing onion prices, the Modi Government has decided to import onion from Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Afghanistan to improve supply shortage.
Onion prices touched `90 a kg in several parts of the country due to 30-40 per cent decline in domestic production. The Department of Consumer Affairs has requested the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to ask Indian Missions to act as facilitators for onion import to ease the process and ensure a quick and healthy supply.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Avinash K Srivastava said onion production is estimated to have declined to 20 lakh tonnes in 2019 kharif season from 30 lakh tonnes in the same season last year. The production figures have not yet been received from the Maharashtra Government, but there is substantial fall in the output because of floods, he said. Traders say there will be no relief from soaring prices till December.
As per the Department of Consumer Affairs, in Bhopal onion was sold at `80, in Odisha `70 a kg, in Mumbai `70 a kg, in Chennai `90 a kg, and in Hyderabad, the price per kilogram is `70 to `80 per kg.
Prices of the kitchen staple were between `55 and `90 a kg, depending on the areas and quality, in the national Capital as against `55 on October 31. The supply of onion to Delhi mandis is up to 25 per cent lesser this season, sources said.
The country’s largest wholesale onion market Lasalgaon is offering the onion for `55.50 per kg. Heavy rain in Nashik, Ahmednagar and Pune has triggered the rise in the onion prices due to the damage to crops.
Traders fear a further spike in onion prices as a large amount of crops have been damaged by the unseasonal rain.
In view of high prices, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday reviewed the situation of demand, supply and prices with top officials of food and consumer affairs departments for two hours at his residence. The secretaries of both the departments were present.
Stating that prices fluctuate depending on supply-demand, Paswan said currently, there is mismatch in this. There was a delay in sowing of kharif onion because of late arrival of monsoon and later floods in many States damaged the crop, he said. Paswan said much of the onions from the buffer stock of 57,000 tonnes has been disposed off, while 25 per cent of it has been rotten due to short shelf life of the commodity. Still, 1,525 tonnes is left in the Central buffer stock.
Besides shortage, another reason of the drastic rise in price is short supply that was triggered by unseasonal rainfall which damaged the crop in the main growing zones in Maharashtra. Over 54 lakh hectares of crops are said to have been badly damaged in the rains. Some farmers have already expressed grave concern over the rains as most of them are now selling old stocks as all-new onions have been damaged.
The Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday relaxed fumigation norms for imported onions up to November 30 in a bid to improve domestic supply. Currently, imported onions are allowed in the country after the commodity is fumigated with Methyl Bromide and certified by the exporting nation. Importers are required to pay huge charges if found non-complied with this provision. The Centre has also decided to dispatch inter-ministerial teams to Karnataka and Rajasthan to take stock of onion supplies in the respective States and encourage supplies to consumer regions such as Delhi and adjoining areas. The Centre has banned their exports in September as onion prices hit the sky. The Commerce and Industry Department has issued orders not to export the onion until further orders.
