Onion auction resumes for brief period in Nashik, price opens at Rs 16-17 per kg

Onion auction resumed for some time in Nashik mandis on Thursday afternoon after a three-day strike. However, before the imposition of export duty, the price of onion which had reached Rs 22-23 per kg in the wholesale mandis, on Thursday was quoted at Rs 16-17 per kg.

Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) in Lasalgaon in Maharashtra’s resumed onion trading and auction following reassurance from the Centre that it will look into their demands over the rollback of the 40 per cent export duty on the bulb. Onion auctions, however, stopped after some time as more than 500 farmers blocked the Mumbai-Agra highway seeking cancellation of the Union government's decision to impose 40 per cent export duty on the kitchen staple.

Reports said auctions began at the APMCs in Lasalgaon, the largest wholesale onion market in the country, as well as Pimpalgaon and Chandwad in the morning but were stopped sometime later after the farmers did not get the Rs 2,410 quintal as promised by NAFED, an apex organisation under the Union Agriculture ministry, and NCCF. Farmers stopped the auction since personnel from NAFED, or National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited, were absent during the auctions.

"In Lasalgaon, as many as 300 vehicles laden with onions arrived for auction in the morning with minimum price per quintal being Rs 600, the maximum being Rs 2,500 and average at Rs 2,251. In Chandwad, the price range was Rs 1700-1800 per quintal," an official said. The auctions started at 8:30am but last only 15-20 minutes, with farmers displeased, the official added.

On Wednesday, Union Minister Bharati Pawar held a discussion with leaders of the Nashik Onion Traders Association and farmers’ unions. Pawar, who represents the Dindori constituency in Lok Sabha, assured them she would convey their demands to Union Minister of Food Piyush Goyal. traders had demanded that onion-carrying containers stuck at various ports, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, should be allowed outside India without the 40 per cent export duty imposed by the Central Government.

Although the onion auction has begun in APMCs, farmers’ leaders said they want the Central Government to roll back the 40 per cent duty on onion export. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana president Raju Shetti said, “Our key demand is that the Centre should withdraw the 40 per cent duty on onion export. After Pawar assured us, we have ended the strike”.

On Sunday, the Nashik District Onion Traders Association, various farmers organisations, and APMCS went on an indefinite strike to protest against the Centre’s decision to impose the 40 per cent duty on onion export. Farmers and traders had said the high duty on onion export was a wrong step. They also feared the decision would lead to a steep decline in onion prices and affect them adversely.

The export duty, which is the first time ever on onion, was imposed by the Finance Ministry through a Customs notification and will be in force till December 31. Between April 1 and August 4 this fiscal, 9.75 lakh tonne of onions have been exported from the country. The top three importing countries in value terms are Bangladesh, Malaysia and the UAE.