'Decision to import onion proved costly'

The government move created panic among farmers who in turn began flushing their pre-harvested produce into the market anticipating that they would not get the expected price once the imported kitchen staple hits the stalls, the organisation said.

The prices first soared due to the damage caused by unseasonal rain in the onion producing areas of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka.




“This unseasonal rain damaged the crops which were ready for harvesting,” National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) chairman Virendra Singh said.

However, when reports about the government’s decision came, it was time for the arrival of fresh stock as crops were ready for harvesting.

“This created a panic among farmers who in turn started flushing their pre-harvested produce into market. This led to the soaring in onion prices,” Singh claimed. Expressing confidence that onion prices would significantly come down due to the steps taken by NCCF, Singh suggested that the government should wait for 10 more days before importing onions from other countries.

On Sunday, an additional 426 tonnes of onions landed at Mundra port in Gujarat from Pakistan to boost the domestic supply. The government had imported 200 tonnes of onions from the neighbouring country three days ago.