Modi government has Onion & Tomato problems to fix before 2019

Fluctuation in onion prices can also fluctuate political fortunes. And the NDA government does not want that uncertainty loom over its 2019 prospects.

A major effort is underway to ensure this does not occur in this election year. It started with the budget announcement of allocating Rs 500 crore for Operation Greens. This aims to ensure steady supply of three politically as well as price sensitive vegetables – onions, potatoes and tomatoes – through a foolproof Operation Flood-type exercise.

The inter-ministerial exercise, which followed came to the conclusion that at least in onion and potatoes the problem was storage, not production.


Here, it appeared that potato was less of a problem because it can last up to eight months in cold storage and there was available infrastructure to keep sufficient stock of potatoes. Onion was a problem. Because it’s grown largely in western India. It can be stored in ventilated storages for about four to six months but then not enough have been built across the country.

It was found that onion supplies dip in the summer month and then there’s not enough immediately available to replenish urban markets. So, a high-budget plan is being drawn up to build ventilated storage facilities across the country for holding onion stocks. This is expected to head for cabinet approval soon, sources told ET.

States like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will be targeted first. A special plan will be put together to have storages to service Delhi, where it’s a highly sensitive political issue.

While there’s some blueprint falling in place to prevent fluctuation in onion prices, authorities are in a fix over tomatoes. Here, additional storage does not help because tomatoes don’t last beyond two weeks. Ideally, the best way would be to dry tomatoes or turn it into other forms and store through preservatives.

But in India, the demand is for fresh tomatoes and so, thought is being given to have protected areas for tomato cultivation around high-demand urban centres.

Still, a foolproof plan has eluded policymakers who are now looking to find local solutions. What’s important to note though is while tomatoes are a necessary part of daily food habit, government assessments are that it’s not essential because unlike onion, there are substitutes to tomatoes. The political purpose also involves keeping prices competitive enough to draw in farmer producer companies in the longer run, added officials.