The central government said it has contracted to bring from overseas an additional 12,660 MT of onions, as it looks to offset a ten-fold increase in prices of the commodity that is widely used in Indian cuisine.

The latest imports will begin arriving in India from December 27 and the total quantity of onion so far has hit roughly 30,000 MT, the government said in a statement.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was forced to fend off questions in parliament last week around the surge in onion prices. The government has not rushed to import onion from places such as Turkey and Egypt but also moved to ban exports of the vegetable.

These actions have failed to soften the price of onions, which are now more expensive than apples and pomegranates.

On Thursday, the government said the Department of Consumer Affairs has directed trading company MMTC to issue fresh tenders for 15,000 MT more of onions.

On December 9, the central government had revised the stockholding limits on retailers from 5 MT to 2 MT. Importers continue to remain exempted from these stock limits for imported onions, the government said.

The central government had also asked chief ministers to launch operations against hoarding to ensure the supplies in the markets are augmented and stock holding limits are enforced.

First Published:Dec 12, 2019 7:14 PM IST