Onion prices remained at a high level in the national capital on Monday and was ruling at an average price of Rs 78 per kilogram in the retail market, according to government data.

However, the all-India average price of onion was at around Rs 50.35 per kg while the maximum rate was Rs 83 per kg and modal price was at Rs 60 per kg, as per the data compiled by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

The minimum rate is Rs 17 per kg.

Local vendors are selling onions at Rs 80 per kg while the key kitchen item is available at Rs 75 per kg on e-commerce portals Bigbasket and Otipy.

On Saturday, the Centre imposed a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of USD 800 per tonne on onion exports till December 31 to boost availability of the vegetable in the domestic market.

The USD 800 per tonne MEP translates into about Rs 67 per kg. The MEP is there for all varieties of onion except Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram onions, and for cut, sliced or broken in powder forms.

Besides, the Centre has announced that it would procure an additional 2 lakh tonnes of onion for the buffer, over and above the 5 lakh tonnes already procured.

An official statement issued on Saturday said that the step to impose MEP will help in maintaining sufficient availability of onion to domestic consumers at affordable prices as the quantity of stored Rabi 2023 onion is declining.

Onion from the buffer stock has been disposed continuously since the second week of August in major consumption centres all over the country, and also supplied to retail consumers at Rs 25 per kg through mobile vans operated by NCCF and NAFED.

"Till date about 1.70 lakh metric tonnes of onion has been disposed from the buffer. The continuous procurement and disposal of onion from the buffer are undertaken to moderate the prices for consumers while ensuring remunerative prices to the onion farmers," the statement had said.

Last week, a senior ministry official had said that the delay in kharif onion sowing due to weather reasons resulted in less coverage and late arrival of the crop.

The fresh kharif onion should have started arriving by now but it has not., With stored rabi onion getting exhausted and delay in the arrival of the kharif onion, there is a tight supply situation, resulting in price increases in both wholesale and retail markets, the official had said.

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