Fear of onion, the government started building dams before water

- Antenna - Vivek Mehta

- NAFED has started selling onion from E-NAM portal due to the fear of a big jump in onion prices in the month of September.

There is a bigger panic in the government than in the people due to the fear that there will be a big jump in onion prices in September. Onion price per kg is currently Rs. It is around 35. However, the government has already started the sale of onions through the Inam-portal through NAFED so that its prices do not increase like tomatoes and the public does not pay fish on the government's head. On the other hand, the government has imposed 40 percent export duty on onion exports. The government wants that the supply should not fall domestically and its prices should not go up. That is why 32,500 kg of onions were sold in a day on e-name portal. This is an effort to ensure that the price of onion does not rise beyond limits and the government is not put in trouble. The Consumer Affairs Department of the Central Government uses its Price Stabilization Fund to keep prices of onions and pulses in check.

Nafed has started supplying onions to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka and Odisha from its onion buffer stock. Onion supply in Gujarat comes from Maharashtra. As the supply from Maharashtra has reduced a little, the prices have started to tighten in Gujarat. But in a month and a half, i.e. around the first fortnight of October, there is a possibility that the onion crop from Bhavnagar in Gujarat will be available in the market. Therefore, if the price of Gujarat does not go out, the possibility of raising its prices in Gujarat is likely to be limited. Nashik-Maharashtra is the largest onion production center in India. So the farmers of Maharashtra are upset with the central government's decision. Onion is also exported from Maharashtra to China and Pakistan. China and Pakistan have started buying onion from Afghanistan as Maharashtra's onion has become expensive. As a result, Maharashtra's farmers and exporters have lost their business. Because importers have found an alternative in the form of Afghanistan.

Farmers of Maharashtra are complaining that 80 percent of onion stocks of Maharashtra farmers have rotted due to stoppage of exports. NCP's Sharad Pawar has demanded. Farmers are finding this move of the government anti-farmer. Sharad Pawar is trying to get the votes of the farmers by taking the side of the farmers. When Sharad Pawar was the Agriculture Minister, he continued to export onions when the Maharashtra season was in progress, but when Gujarat's season goods started hitting the market, he controlled the export and worked to break down its prices in the local market. Sharad Pawar refused to answer on this issue.

During the ravi season, NAFED and the National Cooperative Consumers Federation have purchased one and a half lakh tonnes of onion from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh this year. It has a buffer stock of 3 lakh tonnes. The central government has given an order to increase this buffer stock to 5 lakh tonnes. Thus, the opposition is trying to bully the government in the name of onion. On the other hand, the current central government is trying to come out of this mess. Price per kg of tomatoes is Rs. After reaching 250 to 300, the government has started building embankment before water so that onions do not have to get into trouble. That is why on August 19, onion stock was started to be sold in Himachal Pradesh. People were also satisfied with the quality of onions offered in this sale.