NEW DELHI: A senior Consumer Affairs Ministry official said on Friday that the government has purchased 52,460 tonnes of onion until the end of the fiscal year in order to maintain a buffer stock.

For the past few years, the government has kept an onion buffer stock on hand to deal with price increases during the lean season. The onion is procured through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED). For 2022-23, a procurement target of 2.50 lakh tonne of rabi 2022 onion has been set.

The official stated, "Nafed has reportedly procured 52,460.34 tonne of onion until May 31, this year.' The official added that the current year's goal will be met by next month. A total of 2.08 lakh tonne of rabi (winter) onion was purchased in 2021-22 for calibrated and targeted releases to stabilise prices during the lean season.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, total onion production in the country is expected to increase by 16.81 percent to 31.12 million tonne in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), up from 26.64 million tonne in the 2021-22 crop year.

High inflation major concern for economy: Shaktikanta Das

Risk of stagflation low for India, but growth slowing: Finance Ministry

Rate rationalisation panel fails to reach consensus on GST