Following the meeting with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar onion traders in Nashik have decided to hold a meeting on Thursday to decide about taking part in onion auctions.

For the third consecutive day, onion traders in Lasalgaon and other onion markets in Nashik district continued to boycott the auctions to denounce the Centre’s policy on onion stock and import of the bulb crop.

Lasalgaon Onion Traders’ Association president Nandkumar Daga told BusinessLine that traders will meet on Thursday to discuss participating in the auction.

“We have expressed our concerns in meeting with Sharad Pawar on Wednesday and he has assured to look into it,” said Daga.

Impact on farmers

Pawar, after meeting traders and onion farmers, said the Centre must take a call on demands made by traders and onion farmers. Pawar appealed to the traders not to boycott onion auctions as it would have an impact on farmers and traders as well.

Shailesh Patil, spokesperson, Maharashtra State Onion Growers Association, said that if traders continue to boycott the onion auctions at APMCs, the State government must ask the marketing board to buy the crop from the farmers.

Meanwhile, trading and auctioning at Lasalgaon and other major markets in Nashik remained closed. No farmers brought their produce to APMCs.