To rein in the sharp rise in retail onion prices, the government may start offloading onions from its buffer stock in the open market, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said.
“Looking at the recent rise in prices, we are preparing to start Kanda Express for the bulk transportation of onions by rail from buffer stocks kept in Maharashtra to key consuming centres across the country,” Khare told FE. She said there were sufficient stocks with both the government and farmers to meet demand in the coming months.
According to the Department of Consumer Affairs, the average retail price of onions rose to Rs 41.64 per kg on Saturday, up 45% from a year earlier. Retail prices have risen by more than 19% over the past month, while prices in Delhi-NCR have crossed Rs 55 per kg.
However, trade sources attributed the price rise to reports of a 5-7% decline in kharif onion output in Maharashtra, the country’s largest onion-producing state, due to lower acreage and delayed monsoon rains.
Farmers’ cooperatives NAFED and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India have so far procured around 0.12 million tonne (MT) of onions for the current fiscal year’s buffer stock. The agencies had procured 0.3 MT and 0.47 MT in FY26 and FY25, respectively.
The procurement price for onions was fixed at Rs 1,270 per quintal in May and has since been revised seven times, reaching Rs 2,645 per quintal last week to encourage procurement.
Wholesale onion prices in Lasalgaon, Maharashtra—the country’s largest onion trading hub—rose to around Rs 3,800 per quintal on Saturday, from around Rs 2,000 per quintal in June 2026.
“After a dip in market prices over the last several months, farmers are able to get remunerative prices currently, while there has been ample stock of onions with farmers across Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to meet supplies,” said Bharat Dighole, founder-president of the Maharashtra State Onion Growers Farmers Association.
According to Dighole, the cost of onion production this year is around Rs 2,000-2,200 per quintal. Retail onion inflation stood at 22.54% in July 2026 year-on-year.
Onion production in the 2025-26 crop year (July-June), according to the agriculture ministry’s second advance estimate, is 30.73 MT, broadly unchanged from 30.76 MT in 2024-25.
The rabi onion harvest, which accounts for 70-75% of India’s total onion production, plays a critical role in meeting domestic demand and maintaining price stability until kharif arrivals begin in October.
Sowing of kharif onions in key producing states, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka, has been completed this season.