After the government decided to abolish the custom duty on imports of Onion, it has asked Commerce Ministry to speed up their imports to bring down the prices. The Cabinet Secretary Mr. K. M. Chandrashekhar today asked Commerce Secretary to take swift action for meeting the demand and supply gap.Earlier, in the day the Finance Secretary Mr. Ashok Chawla said that import duty has been reduced from 5 to zero per cent on Onions. The Agriculture Secretary P.K. Basu told reporters in New Delhi that the prices of Onions will come down in next seven to ten days with the arrival of fresh crop in the market. An official press release says that the wholesale prices of Onion, both in Nasik and Azadpur markets, have declined between 35 to 13 per cent.NAFED and other government trading agencies have started selling Onions from their outlets in the National Capital between 35 to 40 rupees a kilogram.The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has urged the states to take all measures to bring down the prices of Onions and called for the monitoring of their prices on daily basis.Deputy Chairman Planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia attributed the hike in the prices of Onions to weather related problems.Meanwhile, government today extended the ban on the export of Onions till further orders.Briefing reporters in New Delhi, the Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said that heads of the state trading corporations have been asked to look for the availability of Onions to meet the demand and supply gap. He asserted that they have been asked to make the Onions available in the short span of time so as to ensure its impact on its prices.Consumer Affairs Secretary Rajiv Agarwal said that the measures taken by the government have started showing results and the prices of Onion have began to decline.