New Delhi: The Centre will start selling onions at a subsidised price of Rs 35 per kg in Delhi from Thursday as onion prices continue to rise across the country. Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi will inaugurate the sale on Thursday, a senior official from the Consumer Affairs Ministry said.
The government will release onions from its 1.21 lakh tonne buffer stock maintained across onion-producing states for 2026. The retail sale will be handled by Nafed, NCCF and Kendriya Bhandar.
“We will start the sale tomorrow in Delhi and after by weekend extend to the NCR region,” National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) Managing Director Anice Joseph Chandra told PTI.
NCCF has around 62,000 tonnes of onions in its buffer stock. It is transporting 400 tonnes from Nashik in Maharashtra to Delhi through a dedicated railway service called “Kanda Express”, which is expected to reach the capital on Thursday.
NCCF will sell the onions through 100 Kendriya Bhandar stores. It is also in talks with Mother Dairy to sell onions through its 300 outlets. Mobile vans will also be used, with 15 vans initially and 40 from Friday.
Onions transported through railway rakes will also be supplied to cities including Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Varanasi, Chandra said.
Nafed, which has a buffer stock of less than 55,000 tonnes, will also sell onions in Delhi and other cities, including Kochi and Guwahati.
The first “Kanda Express” carrying 800 tonnes of onions has already left Nashik for Delhi. Dedicated railway rakes are also planned for Chennai, Ernakulam, Madurai and Guwahati.
Why are onion prices rising?
The government intervention comes after a sharp rise in onion prices over the past month.
According to ministry data, the average retail price of onions across India rose to Rs 44.72 per kg on August 25, from Rs 34.80 per kg a month earlier. Compared with Rs 28.67 per kg a year ago, the price is up 56 per cent.
Prices have risen sharply in several major cities. On Wednesday, onions were selling at Rs 60 per kg in Chennai and Kolkata, Rs 55 in Delhi, Rs 48 in Mumbai and Rs 38 in Ranchi.
Wholesale prices have also increased. The average wholesale price reached Rs 36.73 per kg on August 25, up 63 per cent from Rs 22.54 per kg a year ago.
Officials said the increase is linked to the usual seasonal rise in prices during August and September, along with festive demand, weather-related disruptions, supply chain movement and changes in consumption patterns.
Centre says onion supply remains adequate
Despite the price increase, the government said there is enough onion available to meet domestic demand in the coming months.
The estimated onion production for 2025-26 is 307.37 lakh tonnes, almost similar to the 307.67 lakh tonnes produced in the previous year.