VIJAYAWADA: Following sharp decline in the prices of onions, the State government has decided to purchase onions at a cost of `6,000 per tonne to lend a helping hand to the farmers. Speaking to newsmen at the Interim Government Complex in Velagapudi on Saturday, Marketing Minister C Adinarayana Reddy said the government would purchase onions through Markfed and sell the same to customers through Rythu Bazaars.
He said the decline in demand for onions in Tamil Nadu coupled with increase in area of onion cultivation in the State had led to the sharp fall in onion prices. The minister said that following the increase of onion prices to `20,000 per tonne a month ago, farmers took up the cultivation of onion in large areas, leading to overproduction and fall in prices. And the prices have dropped to `4,000 per tonne, much to the dismay of the onion growers in the State. Earlier also, the government had extended helping hand to chilli and turmeric growers when the prices were nose-dived.