NEW DELHI, AUGUST 26: The Government has begun calibrated and targeted release of onions from its buffer stock to ensure adequate availability and contain seasonal price pressures, with the first Kanda Express carrying onions from Nashik to New Delhi.
The intervention is being carried out through a hybrid transportation model involving railway rakes and road transport, with supplies being directed to major consumption centres based on market conditions and price trends.
Onion production is estimated at 307.37 lakh tonnes (LMT) in 2025-26, broadly comparable to 307.67 LMT recorded in the previous year. The Government has set a procurement target of 2 LMT of Rabi onion for the Price Stabilization Fund buffer during 2026-27, of which around 1.21 LMT has already been procured through NAFED and NCCF.
The Central Warehousing Corporation has been engaged for the first time as the storage agency for the onion buffer this year.
The Government has also launched retail intervention under which onions will be sold at ₹35 per kg through NCCF, NAFED, Kendriya Bhandar and other outlets.
NCCF will sell onions through 90 outlets and 40 mobile vans, while NAFED will use 13 outlets and 50 mobile vans. Kendriya Bhandar will make onions available through around 100 outlets.
The Kanda Express initiative has emerged as a key logistics mechanism for transporting buffer onions from producing regions to major consumption centres. In 2024-25, 14 railway rakes transported nearly 12,000 MT of onions to five cities. This increased substantially in 2025-26, when 86 rakes transported around 88,000 MT to 16 cities.
The first Kanda Express of the current financial year has departed from Nashik for Delhi-NCR. Road consignments are simultaneously being moved to Chennai, Kolkata, Ernakulam, Guwahati, Varanasi, Lucknow, Patna, Chandigarh, Jammu and Amritsar.
Meanwhile, onion exports remained robust, with around 3.82 LMT exported during April-June 2026, mainly to Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the UAE and Nepal.
The Department of Consumer Affairs is monitoring prices of 41 essential commodities, including onion, across 579 centres nationwide. As on August 26, the all-India average retail price of onion stood at ₹37.87 per kg.
The Government said prices of key pulses, including Tur, Gram, Masur, Urad and Moong, along with tomato and potato, remain stable and range-bound. The average retail prices of tomato and potato were ₹38.33 and ₹22.63 per kg, respectively.
The Centre said it would continue monitoring onion prices, arrivals, availability and demand and calibrate the scale and channels of buffer-stock releases as required to safeguard consumer interests while ensuring remunerative returns for farmers.
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