Onion prices in Delhi have started easing and are expected to stabilise at ₹35 to ₹40 per kg following the Central government's dispatch of the 'Kanda Express' — a hybrid rail-and-road supply initiative — and the release of government buffer stocks into the capital's vegetable mandis. The move offers direct relief to consumers who had been paying as high as ₹50 to ₹60 per kg in recent weeks.

What Is the Kanda Express

The Centre flagged off the first Kanda Express from Nashik, Maharashtra on Wednesday, bound for New Delhi. The initiative uses a combination of railway and road transport to accelerate onion supply to major consumption centres. Once the consignment arrives, onions are expected to be retailed at approximately ₹35 per kg through agencies including the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF), the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED), Kendriya Bhandar, and other retail outlets.

Ground Situation at Delhi Mandis

Rajkumar Luthra, an onion trader at Ghazipur vegetable market in East Delhi, said the Nashik consignment had not yet arrived as of his last update but was anticipated by Thursday evening. He noted that onions reaching the capital's Adarsh Nagar vegetable market would reportedly be sold through an 'online auction' mechanism. Luthra said current market prices ranged from ₹35 to ₹45 per kg, and that the incoming stock would bring significant relief.

At Okhla Mandi, traders confirmed that prices had already begun falling on account of government stocks being channelled into the market. Trader Mohammad Bilal said onion prices in Delhi had not crossed ₹45 per kg, attributing the earlier spike to reduced supply volumes. He noted that while NAFED had been releasing subsidised buffer stocks at several locations across the country, Delhi was yet to receive a direct allocation — though prices were expected to ease further once it did.

Trader Naeem Rahman said: 'Now more quantity of onions is being supplied across markets in Delhi. Currently, the best quality of onions is priced at ₹35–40. This reduction in price (compared to the previous ₹50–60) is because buffer stocks have been released and markets are now receiving sufficient quantity of the vegetable.' He added that the earlier price surge was directly linked to constrained supply.

Why Prices Spiked and What Changed

According to traders, the price escalation was driven by a supply shortfall — compounded, in part, by NAFED's own stocking activity, which temporarily reduced volumes available to open markets. The government's decision to release buffer stocks and deploy the Kanda Express is a direct counter to that squeeze. This is not the first time the Centre has intervened in onion markets; similar buffer-stock releases and subsidised retail operations have been deployed during previous price surges, including in 2019 and 2023.

What Comes Next

With the Nashik consignment expected in Delhi by Thursday evening, traders anticipate further downward pressure on retail prices. If NAFED extends its subsidised stock release directly to Delhi mandis — which has not yet happened — prices could fall closer to the ₹35 per kg mark at cooperative and government retail outlets. Markets will watch whether the Kanda Express becomes a recurring supply mechanism or remains a one-off intervention.