The National Agriculture co-operative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed), which procured onions from Lasalgaon and other wholesale markets in the state over the past four months is now set to dispose of nearly 13,000 tons of the buffer stock from its various storage facilities across Nashik district.
These onions will be supplied either to state governments as per requirements or sold in the wholesale markets in the country. In April this year, the central government had directed the Nafed to start onion procurement in a bid to create a buffer stock to tackle scarcity and stabilise prices in domestic market.
Five months ago, Nafed started procurement of around 25,000 to 30,000 tons of onions from Nashik, Maharashtra’s onion belt. Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, MD, Nafed had told FE that the plan was to procure onions under the price stabilisation fund (PSF) from Nashik in view of falling prices.
Usually a supply and demand imbalance can lead to shooting up of prices in the months between the harvest seasons. The central government had therefore planned to establish a buffer stock to tackle the scarcity of onions, particularly during the period from July to September.
During summer last year, the government did not procure onions due to an adequate availability. However, in August, onion prices began shooting up and officials at the Centre directed Nafed to begin procurement to cater to demand from Delhi and other locations. Some part of the procurement was to be done through Nafed and some through Farmer Producer Companies ( FPCs). According to https://www.financialexpress.com/market, the harvest of summer onions starts between March and April.
