Onion prices in India jumped to an all-India modal price of Rs 50 per kg on Tuesday, according to Consumer Affairs Ministry data cited by The Hindu Business Line, as Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan directed the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to work out a solution to compress the spread between farm-gate and retail prices. The minister questioned why prices were climbing when farmers had already sold their produce, in an apparent reference to artificial price inflation by traders, according to The Hindu Business Line.
Onion prices spike across India
Price data from the Consumer Affairs Ministry, as carried in the report, showed steep increases across major consumption centres. In Punjab, a major onion-consuming state, the average price stood at Rs 53 per kg on August 25 — up 42 per cent from a month earlier and 130 per cent over the past three months. Delhi's modal price was Rs 55 per kg, up 22 per cent in a month and 83 per cent in three months.
| City | Price (Rs/kg) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| All-India (modal) | 50 | — |
| Punjab (average) | 53 | +42% (month); +130% (3 months) |
| Delhi (modal) | 55 | +22% (month); +83% (3 months) |
| Chennai | 60 | vs Rs 35 a year ago |
| Kolkata | 60 | vs Rs 32 a year ago |
| Mumbai | 48 | vs Rs 32 a year ago |
Minister takes aim at trader-driven inflation
Addressing the annual conference of vice-chancellors of agricultural universities on Tuesday, Chouhan told ICAR:
Consider how to reduce the price gap between what farmers receive and what consumers pay... the issue is also important from the perspective of farming.
Referring to farmers from Maharashtra, India's largest onion-producing state, he noted:
They have already sold their onions. We (the government) had to purchase so that they did not have to sell at Rs 5–6 a kg. We purchased onions under the market intervention scheme (MIS) at Rs 15–20 a kg. Now when farmers do not have stock, how come onion prices have surged?
The Hindu Business Line described the remarks as an apparent reference to artificial price inflation by traders.
'Kanda Express' rail distribution begins
To cool prices, the government has reportedly decided to sell onions at Rs 35 per kg in Delhi once 800 tonnes arrive on Wednesday via the first 'Kanda Express' from the buffer stock maintained in Nashik, Maharashtra, according to an agency report quoted by The Hindu Business Line. Quoting Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare, the report said onions will be sold directly to consumers through stores and mobile vans of NAFED, NCCF, and Kendriya Bhandar in Delhi.
Bulk onions are also being transported through dedicated railway rakes to four other centers to check price rise, Khare said on a social media platform:
- Chennai
- Ernakulam
- Madurai
- Guwahati
A buffer stock of about 1.21 lakh tonnes of onions has been maintained for 2026. In 2024-25, 14 railway rakes carrying nearly 12,000 tonnes of onion buffer stock were dispatched to five cities; in 2025-26, this expanded to 86 rakes carrying about 88,000 tonnes to 16 major cities across the country, the report added.
ICAR asked to fix farm-retail price gap
The request to ICAR follows an earlier official-level committee announced by Chouhan at the annual Rabi conference in 2024 to suggest ways to reduce the price gap for horticulture products between farmers and consumers. The Hindu Business Line reported that although the committee was supposed to study whether the gap could be bridged to benefit both sides, its fate remains unknown. Chouhan also used the conference to urge vice-chancellors to interact more warmly with students in informal ways, adhering to the traditional Guru-Shishya ethos, and asked ICAR to ensure no agricultural university operates without farmland, since classroom teaching alone is insufficient. He added that ICAR should evaluate university performance based on tangible changes brought to farmers' lives through their initiatives.
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