New Delhi: The Central Government on Saturday raised the procurement price of onions by 13 per cent to Rs 2,125 per quintal from Rs 1,875 per quintal, with immediate effect, to improve returns for farmers and reinforce the country’s Price Stabilisation Buffer.
Announcing the decision, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said procurement operations through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) are currently underway to build buffer stocks for effective market intervention.
The ministry said the revised procurement price is intended to benefit onion growers while ensuring adequate buffer stock to manage price volatility. It also maintained that there is no immediate concern over onion availability in the domestic market.
According to the second advance estimates released by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, onion production for the 2025–26 season is projected at 307.37 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), almost at par with the 307.67 LMT recorded in the previous crop year.
The government said stocks in the key onion-producing states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat remain sufficient, with no indication of shortages in stored onions. Wholesale market arrivals across the country continue to exceed 50,000 metric tonnes (MT) daily, including over 30,000 MT from Maharashtra. The average modal wholesale price is around Rs 18 per kg, while the all-India average retail price is Rs 31 per kg.
It added that quality onion stocks are still available in storage and are expected to be released during the lean season to ensure uninterrupted market supply.
On exports, the ministry said around 1.50 lakh metric tonnes of onions were shipped during June. However, export momentum may slow temporarily as fresh onion harvests from Pakistan and China are being offered at competitive prices in key international markets, including the Gulf region, Sri Lanka and the Far East.
The government further noted that kharif onion sowing in Maharashtra’s Nashik region has been delayed by nearly 15 days due to the late onset of the monsoon. In Karnataka, sowing in the Chitradurga and Challakere belt has reached approximately 60 per cent of the normal level. It said delayed rainfall in some regions has prompted speculative buying by a section of traders, although demand at current price levels remains limited in major consumption centres.
The ministry expressed confidence that adequate production, healthy stock levels and continued procurement efforts will help maintain stable onion supplies while safeguarding farmers’ incomes and moderating price fluctuations in the months ahead.
