Prices of primary articles have gone up by around 13 per cent since March, as compared to a little over 2 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

The government is, however, hopeful that with supplies being augmented through imports, and the rains stopping, the price situation will soon come under control.

Earlier, with the soil in Maharashtra wet and clayish, it wasn't possible to pick the onion crop supplies from Maharashtra have resumed once again, though haltingly. In overall terms, the unseasonal rains have resulted in shortfall of kharif crop for onions around 5 lakh tonnes.

At today's meeting of all economic ministers (commerce, industry, food anddefence) called by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee to tackle the alarming price rise, the government also pulled up the agriculture co-operative NAFED for very poor performance in importing onions. While NAFED had been asked to import onions over three weeks ago, it has been able to import just a fraction of what it was asked to do. The government has now asked the Delhi Civil Supplies Corporation to begin importing as well between it and NAFED, around 300 tonnes of onions are to be imported daily.

Briefing the press about today's meeting, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said that Vajpayee will be writing to all chief ministers asking them to do whatever they can to crackdown on hoarders. Sinha said the government is considering a proposal for brining potates and onions under the preview of Essential Commodities Act. Defending the government's earlier reluctance to ban export of onions, he said the exports confined only to special varities not much in demand in the domestic market. Sinha said that CabinetSecretary Prabhat Kumar has convened a meeting of state Chief secretaries on November 7 to review the action taken on this score. Sinha said that the state governments have been asked to deregulate the cold storages so that such facilities could be augmented that, eventually, is the only way to ensure that prices can be kept under control. The Cabinet Secretary will also convene a weekly meeting with various ministries to review the price situation.