Government Acts To Curb Soaring Vegetable Prices

The central government has purchased 500,000 tonnes of onions from farmers to stabilize prices and plans to release them into the market to ease costs. Additionally, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi has launched a program selling subsidized tomatoes in the National Capital Region, with plans to extend it to other cities. These measures aim to address rising vegetable prices, provide immediate relief to consumers, and restore market stability.

Consumer price inflation rose to 5.1% in June after five months of decline, primarily due to a surge in vegetable prices. Food inflation hit 9.4%, driven by increased costs of staple items like tomatoes, onions, and potatoes.

Subsidized tomatoes will be sold at ₹60 per kg in high footfall areas to help stabilize prices, which surged due to extreme weather disrupting production and transportation. The government is monitoring these price changes closely. Last year, onions were purchased from farmers at ₹17-18 per kg, but this year the price has increased to ₹26-27 per kg. To address this, the government is maintaining an onion buffer stock. This approach benefits both farmers, through procurement prices, and consumers, by providing subsidized onions.

Last year, the government sold subsidized onions at ₹25 per kg in 19 cities through cooperative agencies as prices soared to ₹90 per kg. This intervention helped stabilize prices in some areas. The government used nearly all of its 500,000 kg onion stock to manage market fluctuations, selling around 170,000 kg at subsidized rates before a new wave of inflation. This year, cheaper tomatoes will be available through outlets and mobile vans managed by the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF), which sold about 60 tonnes of tomatoes, including 10 tonnes from Nepal, at reduced rates last year.

NCCF Managing Director Anice Joseph Chandra announced that subsidized tomatoes will be sold at locations including Krishi Bhawan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Colony, Hauz Khas, Parliament Street, INA Market, Mandi House, Kailash Colony, Gurugram, Moti Nagar, South Extension, Rohini, and Noida Sector 14. A recent surge in onion prices in Delhi is linked to flooding in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, which supplies onions to the capital.