Miffed over the soaring prices of tomato and onion, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked NITI Aayog to make a strategy to find a permanent solution to the issue.
Despite the bumper crops of tomato and onion, neither the farmers are getting appropriate price for their produce nor are the consumer able to buy them cheap.
Incidentally, prices of tomato and onion have gone through the roof recently across the country. Tomato is being sold at Rs 80-90 a kg since June. The inferior quality of tomato is available at Rs 50-60 a kg. According to traders, rates will come down in the next 15 days after rains stopped. On the other hand, onion prices are also going up due to short supply. The prices of onion increased from Rs 10 to Rs 35 a kg. Traders have predicted that onion prices will touch the Rs 100 a kg mark in the next few days.
Following the directions of the PMO, the NITI Aayog has written to all Chief Secretaries of the States and the Union Territories seeking details about storage capacities and asking them to explain how there could be huge price difference of the vegetable from one State to other State. The Aayog has also advised the State Governments to begin work to create and increase storage capacities for perishable items including tomato and onion with the help of private players. The Aayog has also asked about market intelligence systems of the States and the UTs to assess the problem in advance. It has also sought a solution to the problem.
The wholesale price of tomato in Rajasthan for May was Rs 2.75 per kg while Rs 10.54 in Gujarat. The prices trebled between Andhra Pradesh and Kerala for May, as the wholesale price was Rs 4.50 a kg in the former against Rs 16. 45 a kg in the latter.
Interestingly, none of the State Governments has set up market intelligence system to forecast the future prices of foodgrain and vegetables items. “The agriculture is a State subject and the Ministry has very limited role to play,” said an official of Ministry of Agriculture adding that the Ministry has asked the State Governments to set up cold storages for perishable vegetables and foodgrains with the help of private players.
According to Rajender Sharma, former Azadpur Mandi chairman and one of the biggest suppliers of onion in the national Capital, demand for Maharashtra onions has picked up on a shortfall in supplies from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh due to deficit rainfall, which affected production in these States.
“On the other hand, excess rainfall in Rajasthan and Gujarat has reduced supplies from there, contributing to the price rise, he said. Maharashtra has for now emerged the primary supplier and will remain so for the next couple of months as far as onion is concerned. In Central Karnataka districts such as Chitradurga, onion planting has been hit by not only poor rains, but also due to the declining water table as the region has been hit by consecutive droughts. Supplies of new crop from Kurnool region in Andhra are also down drastically due to weak rain.