The Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs on Thursday said it has contracted to import an additional 12,660 tonnes of onions and the shipment will reach India from December 27 onwards, a move aimed at improving the domestic supply and check price rise.
With this, the total quantity of imports that have been contracted so far reached approximately 30,000 tonnes, an official statement said.
For the second week in a row, onion prices are ruling above the Rs 100 per kg mark, as government efforts to cool the rates seem to be taking more time than expected.
In a statement, the Ministry said it has directed state-owned trading agency MMTC to issue fresh tenders for additional 15,000 tonnes of onions (three new tenders of 5,000 tonne each) on Thursday.
On Monday, the Centre further reduced the stock holding limit for onion to 2 tonnes from 5 tonnes for retail traders.
Last week, the ministry had reduced the stock holding limit on wholesalers to 25 tonnes from 50 tonnes.