Centre to sell buffer-stock onions at Rs 35/kg in Delhi as prices surge
NCCF, Nafed and Kendriya Bhandar will begin subsidised onion sales in Delhi on Thursday, with NCR expansion targeted by the weekend. The Rs 35/kg price undercuts prevailing Rs 55–60/kg retail levels, using buffer stocks and Kanda Express rail supplies.
What happened
The Centre will sell buffer-stock onions at Rs 35/kg in Delhi from Thursday through NCCF, Nafed and Kendriya Bhandar, extending to NCR by the weekend. The intervention follows sharp retail and wholesale price increases and will use dedicated Kanda Express rail supplies.
Key facts
- Rs 35/kg subsidised retail price
- Rs 55-60/kg prevailing retail prices in several cities
- 1.21 lakh tonnes total onion buffer stock
- 62,000 tonnes NCCF buffer stock
- less than 55,000 tonnes Nafed buffer stock
- 400 tonnes transported by NCCF from Nashik
- 800 tonnes on first Kanda Express rake
- 100 Kendriya Bhandar stores
- 300 Mother Dairy outlets under discussion
- 15 mobile vans initially, rising to 40
- All-India average retail price Rs 44.72/kg on August 25
- 28% monthly rise in average retail price
- 56% year-on-year rise in average retail price
- Average wholesale price Rs 36.73/kg on August 25
- 63% year-on-year wholesale-price rise
- 307.37 lakh tonnes estimated 2025-26 onion production
Why this matters
Retailers with strong last-mile networks could explore partnerships with NCCF, Nafed or Kendriya Bhandar to distribute buffer-stock produce and build public-sector supply-channel access.
What to watch
- Daily stock availability, queues and purchase limits at subsidised onion outlets.
- Delhi-NCR wholesale and neighbourhood retail onion prices versus the Rs 35/kg administered price.
- Speed and volume of Kanda Express arrivals and buffer-stock releases.
- Spread between Delhi prices and other major-city prices, indicating whether supply is being redirected toward NCR.
- Evidence of resale, hoarding, or retailer shortages following subsidised distribution.
- Late-kharif arrivals, weather disruptions and festival-season demand trends.
- Expand subsidised sales from Delhi into NCR and selected high-price cities through NCCF, Nafed and Kendriya Bhandar.
- Impose per-customer quantity limits and publish daily outlet-wise availability to manage queues and resale risk.
- Increase rail-based dispatches from buffer locations and monitor wholesale mandis for diversion of supply toward Delhi.
- Use the intervention as a benchmark to press retailers and wholesalers against excessive margins while assessing further buffer-stock releases.