The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has started releasing onions from government storage to manage price increases expected during the festival season. The move involves using trains and trucks to deliver onions to major cities, with retail sales at a fixed price of ₹35 per kilogram through various outlets.
What the government is doing
India’s onion production for 2025-26 is estimated at 307.37 lakh metric tonnes, roughly the same as the previous year. The government had set a target to store 2.00 lakh metric tonnes of Rabi onions for its Price Stabilization Fund buffer during 2026-27, and has procured around 1.21 lakh metric tonnes so far. The Central Warehousing Corporation has been assigned to manage these storage operations for the first time.
To move onions to consumers, the government is using a combination of railway trains and road transport. The Kanda Express train service, which transported around 12,000 metric tonnes across five cities in 2024-25, has expanded substantially. During 2025-26, it moved approximately 88,000 metric tonnes to 16 cities. The first Kanda Express train carrying onions has departed from Nashik headed for Delhi. Road transport is simultaneously supplying onions to Chennai, Kolkata, Ernakulam, Guwahati, Varanasi, Lucknow, Patna, Chandigarh, Jammu and Amritsar.
Onions will be sold at ₹35 per kilogram through:
- NCCF: 9 outlets and 40 mobile vans
- NAFED: 13 outlets and 50 mobile vans
- Kendriya Bhandar: approximately 100 outlets
The government monitors onion prices daily across 579 centres nationwide. Currently, the all-India average retail price stands at ₹37.87 per kilogram. Onion exports during April-June 2026 totalled approximately 3.82 lakh metric tonnes, with shipments going to Malaysia, Sri Lanka, UAE and Nepal.
What this means for you
Consumers in major cities can expect onion supplies at controlled prices of ₹35 per kilogram through government retail outlets and mobile vans during the festive season when prices typically rise. The government’s combination of adequate production, buffer stocks and targeted retail sales is intended to keep prices stable and affordable even as demand increases during festivals like Diwali, Durga Puja and the wedding season.