A woman sorts onions at a wholesale vegetable market, in Chandigarh. (PTI photo)

NEW DELHI: For the first time, the Centre imposed a stock limit on onion that traders, both retailers and wholesalers, can keep with them and also banned export of the kitchen staple. It also warned hoarders of strict action for artificially raising prices. The nationwide stock limit will be enforced till November 30.

The two decisions on Sunday came amid reports of spiralling onion prices and just ahead of Maharashtra and Haryana elections. Onion prices have more than doubled in the last two months due to short supply. According to the consumer affairs ministry, retail price touched a maximum of Rs 70/kg in Rajkot and was available in Delhi at Rs 60/kg.

Consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan tweeted that the government has imposed a stock limit of 100 quintals or 10 tonnes of onion which a retail trader can keep. For wholesale traders, the limit is 500 quintals or 50 tonnes. He said the Centre was ready to provide onion at subsidised rates to states from its buffer stock. Paswan had earlier warned of strict measures against hoarding and said “the Centre would wait for 4-5 days” and hoped speculators would fall in line.

Sources said all these years, the Centre used to delegate the power of imposing stock limit on any item to the states. Sources said the government move came after a team of officers visited key onion producing areas and reported that there was no dearth of supply. “Some players have held back stocks and that has pushed prices. Many of them have also found safe houses to keep onions with farmers,” said an official.

“The central government today (Sunday) took several steps to contain onion prices, namely imposition of stock limit on traders, ban on exports, and state governments will take strict measures to prevent hoarding,” the consumer affairs ministry said.

Officials said the impact will be felt in the next two days. There were reports of some traders and farmers from Maharashtra protesting against any government intervention claiming that farmers were getting better prices for their produce.

Meanwhile, to give relief to consumers, the central government is offloading 50,000 tonnes of buffer stock of onion across the country.



In Video: Centre prohibits export of all varieties of onions