According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), sequential price increases were also seen for onions and potatoes on Thursday.
New Delhi: The Finance Ministry reported that the government has levied a 40% levy on onion exports through December 31.
It stated that the obligation is effective right away.
The decision was made since onion prices have risen steadily this month. According to reports, onion prices will probably continue to rise in September.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its bulletin on Thursday that tomato prices had, on average, continued to rise in August despite more recent data showing some rate reductions.
According to the newsletter, prices for potatoes and onions also increased sequentially.
According to news agency ANI, the central government began distributing onions from its buffer supply on August 11.
The government made the decision to keep a buffer stock of 3 lakh tonnes of onions for the 2023–24 growing season. The government had a buffer reserve of 2.51 lakh tonnes of onions in 2022–2023.
When supplies are scarce, buffer stock is kept on hand to cover any needs and to stabilise prices if they rise dramatically.
The Managing Directors of the government’s agricultural marketing organisations, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF), met with Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary Food and Public Distribution Department, on Thursday to finalise the disposal procedures.
The decision was made to release the onion stocks by focusing on major markets in states or regions where retail prices are higher than the national average and where the rates of price growth over the previous month and year are higher than the threshold level. The Food Ministry announced on Friday that e-auction disposal and retail sales on e-commerce platforms were also being investigated.
65% of India’s onion production, or rabi onions, are harvested between April and June, and they satisfy consumer demand until the kharif crop is harvested between October and November.
During the lean supply season, the purchased inventories are often issued through targeted open market sales as well as to states, Union Territories, and government agencies for supplies through retail outlets.
