With onion prices soaring, the Government today assured the State Governments that it would find a solution to contain prices.
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution K. V. Thomas said onions were not being exported because of the increased prices and low production in the country.
“In the last two days prices have gone up and production has come down slightly and no export is taking place because prices in India are much more than that outside,” Thomas told presspersons outside Parliament House.
The Minister said he was in touch with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and authorities in other States to find an immediate solution to the crisis.
“I am in touch with States such as Delhi whether they are able to take onions from Nashik. (Agriculture Minister) Sharad Pawar will be coming on Sunday. So I will find some solution for it,” Thomas said when asked about the sky rocketing prices of onion.
Onion prices remained high at Rs 60 for a kg in Delhi yesterday even though wholesale rates fell by Rs 5 a kg on increased supply.
In the upmarket colonies, the bulb, a key ingredient in many Indian dishes, cost between Rs 70-80 a kg.
At Lasalgaon in Nashik, Asia’s largest wholesale market for onion, prices had declined slightly to Rs 45 per kg yesterday from Rs 46 a kg.
India exported 6.39 lakh tonnes during April-July this fiscal compared with 6.94 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. Production stood at 16.6 million tonnes in 2012-13.