August 24th 2023.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has requested the Union government to increase the number of procurement centres for onions in response to farmers and traders protesting the 40% export duty imposed by the Centre on the 19th of August.
Shinde has expressed his support for the onion farmers, saying, “We have requested the Union agriculture and commerce ministries to increase the number of procurement centres. At present, procurement is being done at 13 centres set up by NAFED. So far, 500 metric tonnes of onion have been procured. Considering the quantity of onion with farmers we have requested that the number be increased.”
The Union government announced the purchase of 2 lakh metric tonnes of onions at ₹2,410 per quintal in order to increase domestic availability. However, farmers have claimed this move will lead to a glut in the domestic market, resulting in prices crashing and heavy losses for the cultivators. The auctions in the APMCs in Nashik, particularly Lasalgaon - the largest wholesale market for onions in India - have been affected since Monday.
In response to this, members of the Congress party have been protesting the 40% export duty on onions, while the NCP has demanded ₹4,000 as an assured price for the crop. It remains to be seen what steps the Union government will take in order to protect the interests of the onion farmers.
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