Centre starts selling onions at ₹35 per kg in Delhi-NCR to check price rise

The Centre has started selling onions at a subsidised price of ₹35 per kg, a 44% discount from the current market price, as part of measures to check price volatility and ensure adequate availability during the festive season.

The Department of Consumer Affairs said the intervention is being undertaken using government buffer stocks to improve consumer access and moderate price pressures.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare on Thursday flagged off mobile vans of the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) from Krishi Bhawan, marking the start of the retail sale.

The government said there is sufficient production and availability of onions, but it has taken proactive measures to contain price volatility arising from festive demand.

Khare said the prices have risen because of black marketing, hoarding and profiteering.

She asserted that the country has an adequate supply of onions to meet demand during the festive season.

Khare said the government is not considering putting a ban on onion exports, as there is no problem of supply.

During April-June 2026, onion exports stood at approximately 3.82 lakh tonnes.

In Delhi, the price of onion on Thursday stood at ₹62 per kg.

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday blamed middlemen for surging onion prices and stressed the need to ensure that farmers get a reasonable income and consumers are not impacted by high rates.

"Kya kisan ko pasine ke puri kimat milti hai? Kya bicholiye ko itna kamane ka adhikaar hai? Sarkar karvai kar rahi hai (Are farmers getting the real price for their hard work? Do middlemen have the right to profiteering from farmers' effort? The government is taking action," Chouhan said at an industry event in the national capital.

Retail sales will be carried out through nine NCCF stores, 13 NAFED stores and 100 Kendriya Bhandar outlets, besides 40 NCCF and 39 NAFED mobile vans across Delhi-NCR.

The government is also using its onion buffer stocks, built through strategic procurement and scientific storage, for timely market intervention.

According to the Consumer Affairs Ministry, the 'Kanda Express' initiative has strengthened the logistics network for moving buffer onions from producing regions to major consumption centres.

During 2024-25, nearly 12,000 tonnes of buffer onions were transported through 14 railway rakes to five cities. The initiative was expanded in 2025-26, when 86 railway rakes moved around 88,000 tonnes of onions to 16 cities across the country.

The Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) has also been brought into the mechanism to support scientific storage and efficient distribution of buffer onions, the Department of Consumer Affairs said.