Centre procures 52,460 tonne onion till May for buffer stock

New Delhi.The Centre has procured 52,460 tonne of onion till May-end this year for
maintaining a buffer stock, a senior Consumer Affairs Ministry official
said on Friday.
The government for the last few years has been maintaining a buffer stock of
onion to tackle price rise during the lean season. Onion is being procured
through an agency National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of
India (Nafed).
A procurement target of 2.50 lakh tonne of rabi 2022 onion has been fixed for
2022-23

“Nafed has reportedly procured 52,460.34 tonne of onion till May 31, this year,”
the official said.

The target set for the current year will be achieved by next month, the official
added.
In 2021-22, a total quantity of 2.08 lakh tonne of rabi (winter) onion was
procured for calibrated and targeted releases to stabilise prices during the lean
season.
As per the Agriculture Ministry’s estimate, the country’s total onion
production is estimated to increase by 16.81 per cent to 31.12 million tonne in
the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), compared to 26.64 million tonne in the
2021-22 crop year. PTI