Tomatoes-onions-potatoes face extreme price volatility. Addressing it requires sustainable solutions, not temporary ad hoc measures.
Last month, on September 13, when onion retail prices crossed Rs 40/kg in Delhi, the government was hyperactive and imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $850/tonne. Later on, as prices went further up to Rs 50-60/kg, stocking limits were imposed on traders and exports of onions were banned. It created problems in neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh, inviting a sharp jibe from the visiting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on how this ban, without any notice, affected her cooking and how she had to instruct her cook to prepare all vegetables without Indian onions.
But, now, when tomato retail prices have gone beyond Rs 50/kg across the country, what will the government do? Will PM Hasina have to cut down even Indian tomatoes from her cooking, and be forced to turn to China? Anytime, the same situation may arise in the case of potatoes. Such knee jerk reactions like export bans or stocking limits on traders only show the hollowness of our policies. We can certainly do better in addressing large price volatility of basic vegetables.
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