The Centre’s move to impose stock limits on onions to control rising prices seems to have outlived its utility. The prices of the bulb have started declining on their own in Maharashtra, as farmers and traders feel that the crop harvested in May cannot be stored any longer due to the deteriorating quality, and have therefore begun to offload their produce.

The stored onions are already four months old and the higher moisture in the air due to the rains has begun affecting its quality. Hence, farmers are quickly selling their produce and traders are liquidating it with equal speed, resulting in a further price correction. According to data from Agmarknet, a portal under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the modal price of the precious bulb, which was ₹2,450/quintal on August 10 at Lasalgaon market in Nashik, dipped by over 22 per cent to ₹1,900/quintal on Friday.

On the other hand, from August 10 to August 31, arrival volumes jumped from 788 tonnes to 4,007 tonnes at the Lasalgaon market. The market is the largest for onion in the country, and its prices are treated as the benchmark. In a notification issued on August 25, the Centre had allowed State governments to impose inventory restrictions on traders.

Nitin Jain, an onion trader from Lasalgaon, said the Centre wants inventory control so that prices remain subdued.

Vishnu Harak, also an onion farmer, from Junnar in Nashik district, said that since the crop was harvested in April and May this year and stored in open storage places by farmers, it has outlived its shelf life.Farmers are rapidly selling their existing stocks so that more space can be created for the new crop, which will be harvested in September and October.

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