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New Delhi: The central government is planning to launch a digital platform dedicated to tracking the purchase, sale and stock position of onion, a prized commodity, especially when national elections are just a few months away.
The two officials said the Center would use information from the platform to intervene in the market if necessary.
The government is making several efforts to increase domestic supply of onion and keep prices stable amid falling production, including a ban on exports in December.
“At present, (various) agencies, especially NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd), are facilitating purchase and sale, and have been keeping an eye on the stocks for a long time. We go by whatever data they provide. We just wanted to take charge,” said an officer.
“With the new portal, both DoCA (Department of Consumer Affairs) and agencies will have access to the data, and the department will be able to track every single activity, like daily purchases, sale of onions, and farmers registering and selling. Number of,” the official said.
The plan is still in its initial stages, another official said. Both officials refused to reveal their identities.
The Department of Consumer Affairs did not immediately respond to questions on the plan.
Data from the platform will not be available to the general public, the second official said. “Since this is for internal purposes, the public will not have access to data related to stock position and other matters. If access is given, it will have a different impact. There is a possibility that it will benefit traders by giving them a signal to manipulate the market and prices,” the official said.
Irregular rains and prolonged drought during the kharif and late kharif (monsoon sowing) seasons in the major growing regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka have impacted onion production, with the national elections likely to be held in April-May. Became a hot political issue.
As a result, the government last month Onion export banned The objective of discouraging sales in foreign markets was not achieved after the implementation of the minimum export price of $800 per tonne.
Although onion prices have declined in recent times, the government is cautious not to let them rise due to shortage in supply.
Rabi or winter onion sowing has declined by 20% so far in January, raising concerns about adequate production.
Maharashtra and Karnataka are among the top onion producers in the country.
Poor monsoon and dry weather reduced the area under kharif onion cultivation in the 2023-24 kharif season in Maharashtra to 86,000 hectares from 90,000 hectares in the previous season. Production is estimated to have fallen to 750,000 tonnes from 798,000 tonnes.
In Karnataka, the area declined from 145,440 hectares to about 110,000 hectares and production to 770,000 tonnes from 1.7 million tonnes in the previous kharif season.
Total onion production is estimated to decline 4.7% to 30.2 million tonnes in the crop year 2022-23.
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