About 25 per cent of onions in buffer stocks will be damaged due to adverse weather

Mumbai, Ta. Monday, October 26, 2020

Out of one lakh tonnes of onion buffer stocks of onions, 5 per cent stocks have been damaged or are in a state of disrepair due to adverse weather conditions. According to sources in the government agency NAFED, onions can last for a maximum of three and a half to four months after which they start to rot.

The government has been buying onions since March-April to raise buffer stocks, which have been going on for six to eight months. NAFED has so far dumped 3,000 tonnes of onions in the market and another 20,000 to 5,000 tonnes by the first week of November.

The remaining 3,000 tonnes are estimated to have rotted due to lack of moisture. The government has been building buffer stocks of onions since last year with the aim of providing supply to the market in the event of skyrocketing onion prices, the sources added.

Last year, buffer stocks of 5,000 onions were set up, of which about 20,000 tonnes were damaged while another 5,000 tonnes were distributed. Retail prices of onions have started declining as a result of measures taken by the government to keep onion prices high.

According to market sources, retail prices fell by Rs 10 to Rs 15 per kg as goods started arriving in the market. According to an earlier report, onion seed prices have soared in the current year. Onion seeds, which normally sell for between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,500 per kg, are being sold in Nashik for between Rs 200 and Rs 200 before the rabi season this year, the report said.

Nashik is the largest onion producing district in the country. Heavy rains in northern Maharashtra have washed away nurseries, which is said to have caused seed shortages.