The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has commenced calibrated and targeted release of onions from buffer stock to ensure adequate availability and moderate seasonal price pressures during the upcoming festive season. The intervention uses a hybrid transportation model comprising railway rakes and road transport to supply major consumption centers based on prevailing market conditions and price trends.
Onion availability remains comfortable with estimated production of 307.37 LMT in 2025-26, broadly in line with the previous year's production of 307.67 LMT. The government procured 1.21 LMT of Rabi onion against a target of 2.00 LMT for the Price Stabilization Fund buffer during 2026-27, with procurement operations commencing on 15 May 2026 through NAFED and NCCF. For the first time, Central Warehousing Corporation has been engaged as the storage agency for the PSF onion buffer to strengthen storage management and operational efficiency.
Retail sales of onions will be conducted at ₹35 per kg through multiple channels including NCCF (90 outlets and 40 mobile vans), NAFED (13 outlets and 50 mobile vans), and Kendriya Bhandar (about 100 outlets). The Kanda Express initiative has emerged as a key logistics intervention, with the first consignment already departing Nashik for New Delhi. During 2024-25, 14 railway rakes transported nearly 12,000 MT of onions to five cities, while operations expanded substantially in 2025-26 with 86 railway rakes transporting around 88,000 MT to 16 cities across the country.
Simultaneously, road transport is being used to supply other major consumption centers including Chennai, Kolkata, Ernakulam, Guwahati, Varanasi, Lucknow, Patna, Chandigarh, Jammu, and Amritsar. Onion exports remain robust at approximately 3.82 LMT during April-June 2026, with major destinations including Malaysia, Sri Lanka, UAE, and Nepal.
The Department of Consumer Affairs monitors daily prices of 41 essential commodities across 579 centers nationwide, with these market trends serving as key inputs for buffer stock release decisions. Current All-India average retail prices as of 26 August 2026 show: Tomato at ₹38.33/kg, Potato at ₹22.63/kg, Chana Dal at ₹86.71/kg, Atta at ₹40.48/kg, Tur Dal at ₹123.30/kg, Milk at ₹60.82/litre, and Onion at ₹37.87/kg. Notably, Tomato, Potato and Chana Dal prices are lower than a year ago.
The government remains committed to protecting consumer interests while ensuring remunerative returns to farmers through evidence-based price stabilization. Continuous monitoring of onion prices, arrivals, availability, and demand conditions will guide the scale, coverage, and channels of buffer stock releases to ensure adequate supplies and moderate seasonal price pressures during the festive season including Onam, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Dussehra, Diwali, and the wedding season.