Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare has said on Thursday (October 17, 2024) that the Centre will distribute 1,600 tonnes of onions in the northern region to address the rising prices ahead of the festival season. The supply situation of tomatoes is also set to improve in the coming days with increased arrivals from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, Ms. Khare said, adding that it will bring the prices down of tomatoes. The Centre is facing criticism over the increase of retail and wholesale prices of the essential vegetables.

The Union government said 42 wagons, approximately 53 trucks, of onions procured by National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India Ltd. (NCCF) under the price stabilisation fund is being shipped by rail by the ‘Kanda fast train’ from Nashik to Delhi NCR and it will reach Delhi on October 20. “It is for the first time that bulk transport of onions by rail rake has been adopted under price stabilisation intervention,” Ms. Khare told reporters during a press conference to announce the bulk transportation of onions.

The Secretary added that railways as a mode of onion transportation is set to gain importance as more destinations are being added to bolster the pace of disposal. “Shipments by rail rake to Lucknow and Varanasi will be scheduled in next few days. The Department has also requested Indian Railways to allow transportation of onion rakes from Nashik to multiple locations across the North-eastern region,” she said and hoped that the step will ensure wider availability of onions at a very reasonable price to consumers.

The Centre had procured 4.7 lakh tonnes of rabi onion for the price stabilisation buffer this year. As the prices went up, the Centre started distribution of onions from September 5 at a price of ₹35 per kilogram. “Till date about 92,000 tonnes of onion in the buffer has been dispatched from Nashik and other source centres to consuming centres through trucks by road transport,” Ms. Khare said. NCCF Managing Director Anice Joseph Chandra added that the cooperative organisation has covered 77 destinations in 21 States. “Average retail prices in major States like U.P., Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Telangana have come down in recent days in comparison to the level in first week of September, 2024,” the government claimed.