CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Consumer Cooperative Federation (TNCCF) of the cooperatives department has cancelled an order placed with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) for the purchase and supply of 400 metric tonnes of onions to the PDS and cooperative outlets after the consignment was found to be substandard.
The govt had launched a market intervention programme to control onion prices and make the commodity available to consumers at Rs 35/kg through fair-price shops and cooperative outlets. Of the total 2,498 metric tonnes procured, 2,380.32 metric tonnes were sold, recording phase-wise sales rates of 97%, 96% and 92%.
The department said it would continue procuring and distributing only quality produce to protect consumers and the financial interests of cooperative institutions. In all three phases so far, the department has procured onions through NAFED and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF).