New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday increased the procurement price of onions by 13 per cent to Rs 2,125 per quintal from Rs 1,875 per quintal, effective immediately, in a move aimed at providing better returns to farmers and strengthening the government’s Price Stabilisation Buffer.
In a statement, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said procurement of onions through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) is currently underway for the buffer stock. The revised procurement price is expected to improve farmers’ earnings while supporting efforts to stabilise market prices.
According to the second advance estimates of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, onion production for the 2025–26 crop year is estimated at 307.37 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), nearly matching the 307.67 LMT produced in 2024–25. Based on the estimates, the ministry said there is no immediate concern over onion availability, although prices may rise gradually in line with normal seasonal trends.
The ministry said onion stocks in the major producing states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat remain adequate, with no signs of any shortage in stored onions. Daily arrivals at wholesale markets across the country continue to exceed 50,000 metric tonnes (MT), including more than 30,000 MT in Maharashtra, where the average modal wholesale price is around Rs 18 per kg. The all-India average retail price currently stands at Rs 31 per kg.
It added that better-quality onion stocks remain in storage and are expected to be released during the lean season to maintain adequate market supplies.
The ministry said onion exports remained normal, with around 1.50 lakh metric tonnes shipped during June. However, traders expect exports to slow temporarily due to the availability of competitively priced fresh onions from Pakistan and China in key overseas markets, including the Gulf countries, Sri Lanka and the Far East.
The government also noted that kharif onion sowing has been delayed by around 15 days in Maharashtra’s Nashik region due to the late arrival of the monsoon. In Karnataka, sowing in the Chitradurga and Challakere belt has reached about 60 per cent of the normal level. It said delayed monsoon rains and below-normal rainfall in some areas have led to speculative buying by a section of traders, although demand remains subdued at prevailing prices in major consumption centres.
The ministry maintained that current production estimates, adequate stock levels and ongoing procurement are expected to ensure sufficient onion availability while supporting price stability and protecting the interests of both farmers and consumers.
