Bumper yield of onions in 2021, Centre will create a record with 2 lakh tons buffer stock (exclusive)

By Pramod Kumar Jha New Delhi, March 9 : The inflated onion prices would not create a hole in the pockets of the consumers in the country this year, as there is a bumper yield of onions and the demand for it is also gaining pace. At the same time, the Central government is going to create a record two lakh tonne buffer stock of onions so that during the rainy season, there is no shortage in its supply during the off-season and the prices could be kept under control.
Senior officials of the Central government say that the purpose of creating a record buffer stock of onions is to provide a fair price to the farmers for their crop as well as to take care of the consumers.
Officials said that due to adequate availability of onions during the off-season, prices would remain under control. The storage of onions would also be taken care of so that its buffer stock is not wasted.
Earlier, the Central government used to procure onions from only three states, but this year it has planned to purchase onions from four more states.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED), the nodal procurement agency of the Government of India, would also purchase onions this year from the four major producing states of south India — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
NAFED Managing Director, Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, said onions would be procured from seven states this year which includes Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, besides Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.