Onion won't do a tomato on India as Centre procures 5 lakh tonnes at historic rate to be sold on subsidy

The government will procure onions from farmers at a “historic price” of Rs 2,410 a quintal, Union minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

The minister for consumer affairs and food and public distribution, in a press conference, said that Central government agencies National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India will sell onions at a subsidised rate of Rs 25 a kilogram in areas that have reported high prices for the vegetable.

“Both consumers and farmers are valuable to us,” Goyal said.

On August 19, the Union government had imposed a 40% export duty on onions till December 31, saying that the move was aimed at boosting domestic supplies of the kitchen staple and curbing prices.