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Onion growers in Maharashtra have demanded that the Union government must lift the ban on exports to control falling onion prices in the wholesale market.
Maharashtra State Onion Growers’ Association is gearing up for agitation to push the demand.
The government had banned the exports of all kinds of onion on September 14 as retail prices of the kitchen staple soared due to a shortage of supplies.
The government also started importing onions from Egypt, Turkey and other countries.
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“The situation in the market has changed now. There is ample onion coming to the market. If the government lifts the ban, farmers could get a good rate. If the export ban continues, onion prices would come down to ₹400- 500 per quintal in the next few days,” said Bharat Dighole, President, Maharashtra State Onion Growers’ Association.
He added, “Onion cultivation has gone up and a huge quantity would come to the market in near future. Even now, the flow of onion to the market is continuous and hence there will be no shortage. If the government fails to lift the ban, we are planning a massive agitation in the third week of December”.
Interestingly, even as prices of the bulb crop is on the decline in wholesale markets across Maharashtra, the retail price is still higher.
Prices decline
The modal prices for onions reached ₹1,800 per quintal at Lasalgaon APMC market on Saturday. The average rate of summer onion was ₹1,450 on Monday, while Red onion got an average rate of ₹2,500. The market received 3,100 quintals of summer onion and 2,100 quintals of red onion. However, in the retail market, the prices are still at ₹50-60 per kg.
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The temperature-controlled 10,000-tonne warehouse will be operated on BOT modeChairperson of Lasalgaon APMC, Suvarna Jagtap, told BusinessLine that the onion market was in a good run until Diwali with supplies from Maharashtra reaching all over the country. But after the festival season, crops from Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh flooded markets nationally, which led to a decline in prices. The Red onion variety, planted in August and September by farmers around Nashik region, is also now available in markets leading to a further decline in prices.
Onion farmer Shankar Hirwe from Sinnar taluka in Nashik said that imported Turkish onions impacted the domestic prices. Farmers — anticipating that the wholesale prices will reach ₹100/kg in September/October — had stashed away their summer crop in storage. But prices never reached those levels and onions started rotting and sprouting in the storage leading to a distress sale.
A senior Maharashtra Government official said this cyclical volatility in onion prices can only be solved by bringing a larger acreage under onion in places such as Madhya Pradesh and also by keeping a small window open for imports round the year.
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