28 August,2026 01:44 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Image. File pic.
Amid the rising onion prices, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare on Friday dismissed reports that claimed that 30 per cent of the government's 1.21 lakh tonne onion buffer stock had rotten, maintaining that the stock quality was good, according to news agency PTI.
There were allegations that rotten onions were loaded on the Kanda Express train to Delhi.
"Nothing of that kind has happened. Quality is good," she told PTI, adding that the government had used the services of the Central Warehousing Corporation for the first time to enhance the shelf life of onions.
The secretary explained that previously the onion buffer stock was stored with traders, but this time it was entrusted to the CWC, with a third party assessing the quality of the stock at regular intervals.
The government procured the bulk of the buffer stock in June-July, and some in May, thus the stock quality was good, she asserted. Onion is procured through agencies such as National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF).
Khare said the vegetable contains 90 per cent water and retains its quality for three months post-harvest. After this, as the water vapourises, it keeps shrinking every month depending on the storage conditions and ventilation.
The secretary added that onion recovery is estimated at 72 per cent this year, an increase from 49 per cent in 2022, 54 per cent in 2023 and 63 per cent in 2024.
Retail onion prices in the capital rose 88 per cent to Rs 62 per kg on Thursday, up from Rs 33 per kg a year earlier, according to Consumer Affairs Ministry data. The all-India average retail price stood at Rs 46.58 per kg, while the wholesale rate was Rs 38.29 per kg on the same day.
Despite the price surge, Khare said onion availability is adequate to meet domestic demand in the coming months, supported by an estimated 2025-26 production of 307.37 lakh tonnes, broadly on a par with the 307.67 lakh tonnes produced the previous year.
The buffer stock is being transported in bulk through a dedicated rail rake called ''Kanda Express'' to Delhi, Chennai, Madurai, Ernakulam, and Guwahati. A consignment of 453 tonnes from Nashik reached Delhi on Friday. Through the supply infusion, the prices of onions are expected to ease in Delhi-NCR and nearby cities. It is expected to take a week for the impact to trickle down to retail rates.
However, Khare pointed out that mandi prices in Nashik, the onion producing centre stood at Rs 44 per kg on August 24 compared to the Rs 25 per kg retail price at the consumption centre of Delhi on the same day.
Although this was unusual, the secretary said the prices at Nashik mandi have also started to moderate post the initiative.
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are also slowly emerging as major suppliers of onion to Delhi and other northern states, which should ensure adequate supply of onion.
Allaying concerns over El Nino's impact, the secretary said the kharif onion crop outlook is promising and for the rabi onion crop, irrigation has improved along with healthy water levels in key reservoirs.
(With inputs from PTI)
