India: Onion prices are likely to cool down further with the arrival of new kharif crop

New Delhi, Nov 13 (PTI) Onion prices are expected to further cool down in the coming days as the arrival of fresh kharif crop has begun, a senior consumer affairs ministry official said on Wednesday. Currently, the average all-India retail price of onion is ruling at Rs 54 per kg and the prices have declined in the past one month after the government’s subsidised sale of onion in key consuming centers, the official said. The government has a buffer stock of 4.5 lakh tonne of onion, of which 1.5 lakh tonne has been disposed till date. According to the ministry official, the buffer stock onion is being transported to key consuming centres through railways for the first time and is helping boost the supplies. “We will continue with the bulk rail transportation of buffer onion till we exhaust with the stock and prices stabalise,” the official said. About 4,850 tonne of onion has been supplied through rail rakes in the last few weeks to Delhi, Chennai, and Guhawati. A maximum of 3,170 ...