Govt. pays highest price for B’onions

IRANGIKA RANGE

The Government has decided to purchase a kilo of big onion at Rs.36 per kilo which is the best price recorded for the crop so far. This is despite allegations of inefficiency on purchasing the farmers’ harvest.

Addressing the media, Trade, Marketing Development, Co-operative and Consumer Affairs Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that the high quality big onion harvest of farmers in Matale, Dambulla and Anuradhapura is being purchased through the two centres in Dambulla and one centre in Anuradhapura at Rs. 36 by the Government.

The production is expected to be distributed with assistance from Cooperative Societies and Sathosa branches at a lower price with the objective of providing greater relief to the consumers.

He said farmers have conducted protests recently urging the Government to offer a good price for their big onion harvest. “It is clear that several parties are using farmers as tools to implement their political agendas,” he said.

He said that price of the kilo of big onion was Rs. 70 in March. “We have been able to bring the price down to Rs. 50 after removal of taxes under the Government’s price stabilisation programme,” he said.

“We are also providing 60 MT of red onions cultivated in Jaffna to the market,” he said.