PANAJI
Faced with the criticism over spiralling prices of onions, the State government has decided to procure around 1,045 metric tonnes of onions from an agency in Nasik.
Confirming the decision, Director of Civil Supply Siddhivinayak Naik said the government has given the clearance to procure 1,045 metric tonnes onions at wholesale rates from National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) Nasik.
A few days back, the State Cabinet had given the approval to procure onions and supply it to 3.5 lakh ration card holders at a subsidized rate.
A total of 3.5 lakh ration cardholders would be provided 3 kgs of onion each at Rs 32 per kg through fair price shops.
Onion prices in Goa have zoomed in the last few weeks and are expected to hover around Rs 100 per kilo, as supplies from Maharashtra have dwindled.
Goa usually gets its onion stock from Belagavi but for the last few days the stock at Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) wholesale market has declined and only a few truckloads had been diverted to Goa.
During the routine auction of onions on Saturday, the cheapest and low-quality small sized onions were sold at a wholesale rate of Rs 40 a kilo while the best quality large-sized dry onions touched a rate of as high as Rs 80 per kilo.
Traders said the situation is expected to remain the same for at least a few more weeks, unless Government imports onion.
