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Trading in fruits and vegetables across most of the markets controlled by the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMC) in Maharashtra was closed on Monday. The traders are protesting a recent ordinance issued by the State Government, which has removed vegetables and fruits from the scope of the APMC.
Until the ordinance was issued, farmers had to sell most of the produce to the traders who were issued licenses by the APMC. The old APMC Act mandated farmers to sell the produce in the APMC run market yards. Over and above selling the produce to the designated traders, the farmer had to pay APMC cess, taxes, and commissions.
Now the farmers can sell their produce openly outside the APMC markets.
Jaydutt Holkar, Chairman of APMC market Lasalgaon, told BusinessLine that the traders did not participate in the onion auctions on Monday. Consequently there was no sale of the produce. The market is known for its onions and if the strike continues then onions crop could take a hit as heavy monsoons could damage the crop, impacting the prices, he said.
Price implications The APMC-controlled Lasalgaon market in Nashik in Northern Maharashtra sets the prices of onions across the country.
It must also be kept in mind that, under the Act, the compulsion on the part of the farmers to sell in the APMC markets led to a big difference between the prices at which the farmers sold the goods to the traders and the final price at which it was bought by the end customer.
Balasaheb Bende, former Director of the APMC market at Vashi, Navi Mumbai, said that the ordinance had unshackled the farmer but the traders operating in the market are still bound by various rules and regulations under the Act. They should also be removed so that there is a level playing field in the market, he said.
The APMC market in Latur city in the Marathwada region was the exception as the market’s governing committee had chosen to keep trading open for farmers to sell their produce.
Lalit Shah, Chairman of the committee, said that at the end of the trading hours ₹10 lakh revenue was achieved. Fruits and vegetables being perishable items, a majority of traders chose to support the farmers by buying their goods.
The market operations lasted over four hours and farmers even managed to get prices 30 per cent higher, he said.
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