To check spiralling onion prices, the government had in November 2019 decided to import 1.2 lakh tonnes of onion through state-run MMTC. Since then, MMTC has been able to purchase 14,000 tonnes of onion from the overseas market. According to sources, a large quantity of imported onion is still lying at ports, especially in Maharashtra, as many states did not show interest to lift the commodity at high rates at a time when retail prices started cooling down on arrival of fresh crop.