The quality of the Centre’s onion buffer stock is “good”, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said on Friday (August 28, 2026), asserting that for the first time this year the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) was roped in for storage to ensure better shelf life of the commodity.
the bulk of the buffer stock was procured in June-July, which is why the quality remains good, she said, adding that onion recovery is estimated at 72% this year – up from 49% in 2022, 54% in 2023 and 63% in 2024 While some onion was procured in May.
Unlike previous years, when the onion buffer was stored with traders, the responsibility this time was entrusted to the CWC, with a third party assessing the quality of the stock at regular intervals, the secretary said.
A consignment of 453 tonnes reached Delhi on Friday (August 28). It was unusual, she said, that the mandi price of onion in the producing centre of Nashik stood at ₹44/kg on August 24 – higher than the ₹25/kg retail price at the consumption centre of Delhi on the same day. Retail onion prices in the capital rose 88% to ₹62 per kg on Thursday (August 27), up from ₹33 per kg a year earlier, according to Consumer Affairs Ministry data. The all-India average retail price stood at ₹46.58 per kg, while the wholesale rate was ₹38.29 per kg on the same day. Khare said onion availability remains comfortable to meet domestic demand in the coming months, supported by an estimated 2025-26 production of 307.37 lakh tonnes – broadly on a par with the 307.67 lakh tonnes produced the previous year.
The buffer stock is being transported in bulk through ‘Kanda Express’ – a dedicated rail rake – to Delhi, Chennai, Madurai, Ernakulam, and Guwahati. The move is expected to boost supplies in Delhi-NCR and nearby cities and rein in prices, with the fall in retail rates likely to be visible within a week. Ms. Khare noted that mandi prices in Nashik have started easing following the initiative. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, she added, are slowly emerging as major suppliers of onion to Delhi and other northern states. “There should not be a problem. Despite the price spike, Ms.
The stock is good,” she said.
