Lok Sabha Question No. 22 (STARRED), answered on 2019-11-19
Subject: Onion  Prices
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Dean Kuriakose

## Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

## Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *22

TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.11.2019

## ONION PRICES

## *22.   SHRI KULDEEP RAI SHARMA: ADV. DEAN KURIAKOSE:

## Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk/k vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of steep rise in prices of onion in the domestic market recently, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;

- (b) whether the Government has analyzed the gap between the demand and supply of onion in the country and if so, the details thereof;

- (c) the status of onion bufferstock and the percentage of the bufferstock that has already been disbursed to various State Governments;

- (d) whether the Government has asked the States to buy onions from the Union Government and  if  so,  whether  the  Government  has  made  arrangement  to  meet  the  requirement  of States;

- (e) whether the Government is also considering to impose stock limit on onion traders and if so, the details thereof along with the measures taken against hoarding of onions; and

- (f) whether the Government is considering import of onions to meet the local demand, if so, the details thereof and the other corrective steps taken by the Government to bring down the prices of onion in the country?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h ¼Jh jke foykl ikloku½

THE MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI RAM VILAS PASWAN)

(a) to (f) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

## STATEMENT REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*22 FOR 19.11.2019 REGARDING ONION PRICES.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- a) Onion is a seasonal crop with harvesting period of Rabi (March to June), Kharif (October to December) and late Kharif (January to March). In the intervening period (July to October), the market is fed by stored Rabi onions. During 2019-20, there was a 3-4 weeks delay in sowing  as  well  as  decline  in  sown  area  of  the  Kharif  onion  because  of  late  arrival  of monsoon.  Further,  untimely  prolonged  rains  in  the  major  growing  States  of  Karnataka, Maharashtra  and  Madhya  Pradesh  during  the  harvesting  period,  i.e.,  September/October, caused  damage  to  the  standing  crops  in  these  regions.  All  this  adversely  impacted production and quality of the Kharif crop. The rains during September/October also affected transportation  of  the  crop  from  these  regions  to  consuming  areas.  This  led  to  limited availability of Kharif onion in the market and has put pressure on its prices. Details of price increase is at Annexure.
- b) The  details  of  production  and  annual  demand  of  onion  for  last  7  years  are  as  below (quantities in lakh MT):

| Year    |   Production | Annual Demand   |
|---------|--------------|-----------------|
| 13-2012 |       168.13 | 182.52          |
| 14-2013 |       194.02 | 185.03          |
| 15-2014 |       189.27 | 184.88          |
| 16-2015 |       203.33 | 190.02          |
| 17-2016 |       217.18 | 207.70          |
| 18-2017 |       232.62 | 205.31          |
| 19-2018 |       234.85 | Not Available   |

Source: Horticulture Statistics At A Glance 2018, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare

During the current year, the production of Kharif and late Kharif is estimated to be 52.06 LMT which is about 26% lower than previous year's production of Kharif and late Kharif production of 69.91 LMT.

- c) During the current year, total buffer stock of 57,372.90 MT onion was created under Price Stabilization Fund (PSF). Of this, procurement of 48,183.54 MT and 9,189.36 MT was from Maharashtra  and  Gujarat,  respectively.  From  this  buffer,  26,735  MT  was  distributed  to various States Governments, other agencies and also sold in various mandis through open auction. The remaining stock is accounted by disposal of 11,408 MT of low quality onion in the local market and losses due to prolonged storage, driage, spoilage, etc., due to limited shelf-life.
- d) Yes, Sir. During April to September, 2019, the Government had requested all States/UTs to indicate  their  demand  for  onion  from  the  aforesaid  buffer  stock  under  PSF  at  several forums/levels. Further, in November 2019, Government decided to procure/import onions. States/UTs  were  again  requested  to  indicate  their  demand  from  these  procured/imported stock.
- e) Government,  on  29.09.2019,  imposed  stock  limits  on  traders  across  the  country  -  100 quintals  on  retail  traders  and  500  quintals  on  wholesale  traders  under  the  Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Further, Government of India has urged State Governments to hold regular meetings with the traders of Onions at State and District level to prevent hoarding, speculative trading and profiteering, unfair and illegal trade practices like cartelling, etc.
- f) Government has on 09.11.2019, directed MMTC to import up to 1 Lakh MT of onion from surplus  countries.  For  wider  participation,  the  Indian  embassies  in  the  major  exporting countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt have been requested to facilitate such imports. Also, Government has directed NAFED to procure surplus onion from Rajasthan, Maharashtra for distribution in deficit States.

Other corrective steps taken by the Government are as follow:

-  Onions  were  supplied  to  State  Governments  of  Haryana,  Kerala,  Andhra  Pradesh  and Uttar Pradesh at no-profit no-loss basis to improve prices and availability situation.
-  Since July 2019, onions were supplied from the buffer stock for direct retailing in DelhiNCR through Mother Dairy, NCCF, NAFED and Govt. of NCT of Delhi at regulated retail rates to ensure availability of onions at reasonable prices. Freshly procured onion from Alwar area is already being supplied to Govt. of NCT of Delhi.
-  The benefit on export of onions under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) was withdrawn through notification dated 11.06.2019. Minimum Export Price (MEP) of $850/MT was imposed on 13.09.2019.
-  Since 29.09.2019, export of onions is banned. Stock limits have also been imposed across the country.

*****

## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION NO.*22 FOR 19.11.2019 REGARDING ONION PRICES.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

## Retail Price of Onions (₹/kg.)

| Centres   | Price As On   | 1 Month ago   | 3 Month s ago   | 6 Months ago   | 1 Year ago   | %Variation Over   | %Variation Over   | %Variation Over   | %Variation Over   |
|-----------|---------------|---------------|-----------------|----------------|--------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
|           | 15.11.19      | 15.10.19      | 14.08.19        | 15.05.18       | 15.11.18     | 1 Month           | 3 Months          | 6 Months          | 1 Year            |
| DELHI     | 65            | 55            | 28              | 21             | 31           | 18.18             | 132.14            | 209.52            | 109.68            |
| MUMBAI    | 70            | 54            | 25              | 17             | 33           | 29.63             | 180.00            | 311.76            | 112.12            |
| KOLKAT A  | 70            | 50            | 28              | 20             | 30           | 40.00             | 150.00            | 250.00            | 133.33            |
| CHENNAI   | 43            | 37            | 22              | 16             | 20           | 16.22             | 95.45             | 168.75            | 115.00            |
| All INDIA | 60.38         | 47.03         | 23.28           | 17.03          | 22.84        | 28.39             | 159.36            | 254.55            | 164.36            |

*****