As food inflation rises again and the prices of daily consumption vegetables and fruits remain high, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has convened a high-level meeting here on Monday to review the situation.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will chair the meeting, which is expected to be attended, among others, by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit. The latter has been invited to work out the possibility of opening more outlets for sale of subsidised onions, as the wholesale price of onions is not reflected in the retail markets.
Ruling out lifting the ban on export of onions, “unless the situation was completely under control,” Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food K.V. Thomas said on Thursday that the government was looking at opening up more outlets for sale of subsidised onions. Government agencies such as the National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) and the National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) had been asked to further lower the price of onions to Rs. 22-Rs. 23 per kg from February 1.
Monday's meeting will look at why the prices of onions, which were selling at a wholesale rate of Rs. 14 to Rs. 15 per kg in the Nashik villages where it is produced, were still as high as Rs. 32-Rs. 40 per kg in the retail market. The wholesale rate in Azadpur mandi here was between Rs. 4 to Rs. 17 per kg on Friday.
Senior Adviser to NCCF S.C. Singhal said the meeting would look at opening up new mandis/outlets in Delhi on a long-term basis to get around the issue of intermediaries contributing to the rise in the prices of perishables. Arrivals have improved substantially from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka, he added.
The meeting will also look at reasons for the prices of other vegetables such as tomato, bhindi, cauliflower etc. selling upwards of Rs. 35 per kg in the retail market.
