📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Olegushka
Agriculture
Onion Prices Surge 59% as Government Boosts Kanda Express Supply to Stabilise Market
✍️ Business Standard
🗓 25 Aug 2026, 02:18 AM
👁 2
Onion prices across India have jumped 59%, prompting the central government to increase deliveries through the Kanda Express scheme to ease market pressure.
Retail prices of onions have risen sharply by 59% in recent weeks, unsettling consumers and traders nationwide. The steep increase is attributed to a shortfall in supply from traditional producing regions, which has tightened market availability.
In response, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs has activated the Kanda Express programme, a logistics initiative that moves surplus onions from surplus states to deficit areas via dedicated trucks. The government announced an immediate scaling up of these shipments to flood the market with additional stock.
Officials say the accelerated supply chain is expected to temper price volatility within the next few days, though they caution that full stabilization will depend on harvest outcomes and weather conditions in key onion‑growing zones.
Market analysts note that while the intervention may provide short‑term relief, long‑term price control will require sustained improvements in storage infrastructure and farmer procurement mechanisms.
In response, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs has activated the Kanda Express programme, a logistics initiative that moves surplus onions from surplus states to deficit areas via dedicated trucks. The government announced an immediate scaling up of these shipments to flood the market with additional stock.
Officials say the accelerated supply chain is expected to temper price volatility within the next few days, though they caution that full stabilization will depend on harvest outcomes and weather conditions in key onion‑growing zones.
Market analysts note that while the intervention may provide short‑term relief, long‑term price control will require sustained improvements in storage infrastructure and farmer procurement mechanisms.