Currently, onion is being sold at Rs 100 per kg in most of the Indian cities.
In the latest thread of bizarre statements by politicians in this country, Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, while referring to the talk around rising onion prices in the country, said that she does not consume much of onion-garlic herself, adding that she comes from a family which did not have to do much with the vegetable.
"I don't eat much of onion-garlic, so don't worry. I come from such a family which doesn't have much to do with onion," Sitharaman said while responding to interruptions by some opposition members at a time when she was speaking on the onion crisis.
However, she also addressed the crisis over rising onion prices in the country and said that the government was taking several measures to address this issue, including a ban on exports, supplying the produce from the surplus to deficit areas of the country, sorting out the structural issues regarding onion storage, and eliminating 'middlemen' in onion trade through the direct benefit transfer scheme.
"Steps are being taken other than procurement," Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha while replying to the debate on Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2019-20 where she also said that export of onions have been banned and the tender has been floated for its import.
"From 2014, I have been part of some group of ministers which monitors the ups and downs in the onion market. Sometimes when there is a surplus of the crop, we have also facilitated by giving support to those people who want to import. I have overnight passed orders for helping with 5 to 7 per cent assistance for exporting," she said while adding that onion price surge was due to factors such as a reduction in the area of cultivation and production.
Prior to Sitharaman's address in the Lok Sabha, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule had raised the issue of NPAs and onion farmers.
"Why has the production of onion gone down? We export rice and milk and so many other products. Onion grower is a small farmer and he really needs to be protected," Sule had said.
Onion prices soared to Rs 140 per kg in various markets in West Bengal while it touched Rs 150 per kg in Hyderabad. Due to sky-rocketing price, onion theft has also been reported from various parts of the country. Just recently, a farmer in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur alleged that his onion crop worth Rs 30,000 was uprooted and stolen from his field by thieves.
Amid concerns over rising prices of onions, the government on Tuesday revised the permissible stock limits for the commodity with immediate effect. The centre has also announced that will import 11,000 Metric Tons (MT) of onion from Turkey in addition to 6,090 MT from Egypt. The supply from Egypt will arrive in India in the second week of December while consignment from Turkey will reach the Indian shores in January 2020.
Last month, the Union Cabinet had approved importing 1.2 lakh tonnes of onion to improve the domestic supply. Exports have already banned and a limit has been imposed on stock-holding for wholesalers and retailers for an indefinite period.
Currently, onion is being sold at Rs 100 per kg in most of the Indian cities.
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 "Photo: Lok Sabha TV")
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