The government has raised the onion procurement price under its buffer stock programme to ₹16.50 per kg with effect from Saturday (June 13, 2026), from ₹15.80 per kg currently, as part of its efforts to boost farmers' income.

Farmers in Maharashtra are seeking a procurement rate of ₹30 per kg in view of high input costs in the State, the country's largest onion-producing region.

The buffer stocks are maintained annually under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) for market intervention purposes. The government has set a procurement target of 2 lakh tonnes for the year, down from 3 lakh tonnes procured in 2025-26.

Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi chaired a meeting on Thursday (June 12) with officials from the Department of Consumer Affairs to strengthen onion procurement and ensure better returns for our farmers.

"Based on prevailing mandi prices and quality requirements for storage-grade onions, the Minimum Assured Procurement Price [MAPP] has been revised to ₹1,650 per quintal with effect from 13 June 2026," the Minister said in a social media post on Friday.)(June 12)

The pricing methodology has also been refined to make procurement more responsive to market conditions, he added. The Centre had earlier revised the price to ₹15.80 per kg from ₹12.70 per kg, citing market dynamics and the need to protect farmers.

Onion procurement for the current season commenced on May 15. Onion output is estimated at 307.37 lakh tonnes in 2025-26 as compared to 307.67 lakh tonnes in 2024-25, as per the latest government data.

Earlier this week, farmers in Maharashtra demanded a minimum procurement price of ₹3,000 per quintal (₹30 per kg).

They claimed the procurement rate of around ₹1,580 per quintal offered by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumer's Federation of India (NCCF) was lower than prevailing market expectations and inadequate to cover cultivation costs.

"Norms have been relaxed, but farmers are still incurring losses. The real question is when onion prices will increase," Maharashtra State Onion Growers Association's Nashik district president Jaydeep Bhadane had said on Sunday (June 14).