Onion Auctions Disrupted As Lasalgaon Mandi Remains Closed; Farmers, Traders Continue Protests

The government earlier promised the onion farmers and traders that it will be purchasing an additional buffer stock of 2 lakh onions through NAFED and NCCF at a price of Rs 2,410 per quintal

Farmer protests continued on Thursday at APMCs in Maharashtra against the onion export duty levied by the government. The Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in the state remained closed for three days now as the farmers and traders were unwilling to allow onion auctions to be resumed. 

Lasalgaon in the Nashik district of Maharashtra is Asia’s largest onion wholesale market. APMC Chairman Kisan Dhange said that farmers are not willing to resume auctions till they get the promised price of Rs 2,410 by the government. He told ANI, "The farmers blocked the roads. We told them that NAFED has not even started purchasing in the Nashik district. The farmers have decided that the market would remain closed till a rate of Rs 2410 is not provided."

Notably, the government promised the onion farmers and traders that it will be purchasing an additional buffer stock of 2 lakh onions through NAFED and NCCF. The price for these onions was decided as Rs 2,410 per quintal by the government. Union Minister Piyush Goyal earlier informed the farmers and traders on Tuesday that the government will soon initiate the purchase of onions from Lasalgaon, Pimpalgaon, Ahmednagar, and other regions of Maharashtra at the promised price. 

However, farmers continued to block the roads of the Lasalgaon market on Thursday and didn’t allow any auctions to take place. Farmers also staged a roadblock on the Mumbai-Agra highway in the Nashik district for some time before being escorted away by the police.

#WATCH | Maharashtra: Farmers protested and blocked roads in Nashik's Lasalgaon Yeola market against the falling onion prices. pic.twitter.com/sZ7LbtC5Q4

A group of traders-exporters and farmers even held a meeting with the Nashik District Collector Jalaj Sharma earlier on Tuesday and stated that they won’t be participating in the auctions till the government rolls back it’s decision to impose export duty on onions. They also voiced the demand for the government to allow the large quantities of onions stranded at the ports and the Bangladesh border to be exported without any duty. 

The 40 per cent export duty on onions was introduced by the government on August 19, citing the need to keep a check on domestic availability and market prices. The government then announced the increase in it’s annual buffer stock of onions from 3 lakh to 5 lakh for the current fiscal year. Notably, APMCs have been asked to continue with the auctions and take strict actions as necessary against traders who are not willing to participate.