Centre to import onions to check price rise

New Delhi : To keep a lid on rising retail prices of onion which have skyrocketed up to Rs 100 per kg, the Centre on Friday decided to import "substantial" quantity of the key kitchen staple from Dubai and other countries to augment the domestic availability.

State-run trading agency MMTC has issued a tender in this regard, it said. This is the second tender the agency has floated. It had not received response from the bidders for the first tender issued for import of 2,000 tonnes. A decision in this regard was taken at a high-level meeting headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Avinash K Srivastava was present. Onion prices have risen sharply for more than a month due to tight supply. The retail prices have increased up to Rs 100 per kg in the national capital and ruling in the range of Rs 60-80 per kg in other parts of the country, as per the trade data.

"MMTC has been requested to immediately import a substantial amount of onions from Dubai and other countries to augment domestic supplies. A tender for the same has been issued," the consumer affairs ministry said in a statement.

An approval has been granted to reduce the mandatory time for tendering as there is an immediate and prompt requirement domestically, it said. A team comprising officials from MMTC, cooperative NAFED as well as agriculture and consumer affairs ministries has been directed to visit Turkey and Egypt on an urgent basis to take stock of the supplies of onions in these countries and facilitate imports to India, it added.

Meanwhile, the government is also trying to facilitate import of onion through private traders from Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan, for which phytosanitary and fumigation norms have been liberalised till November 30.

In a statement, the consumer affairs ministry said the NAFED has been directed to speed up its domestic procurement process especially from Alwar in Rajasthan and supply to states that have already indicated their demand.