After tomatoes, the rising prices of onions are giving a tough time to people and in the midst of this, Maharashtra Minister Dada Bhuse has offered a 'solution' to battle the crisis. He claimed it wouldn't make a difference if people who couldn't afford the kitchen staple would not consume it for a few months, news agency PTI reported.
"When you use a vehicle worth Rs 10 lakh, you can buy produce at a higher rate by Rs 10 or Rs 20 than the retail rate. Those who cannot afford to buy onion, it would make no difference if they do not eat it for two-four months," Bhuse said.
This comes in the middle of protests by farmers and traders against the government's decision to impose a 40 per cent export duty on onions. Bhuse. however, said that the decision on export duty should have been taken with proper coordination.
"Sometimes onion fetches rates of Rs 200 per quintal while sometimes it attracts Rs 2,000 per quintal. A discussion can be held and an amicable solution can be found," Bhuse said.
Earlier on Monday, traders decided to close onion auctions indefinitely in all the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) in Nashik, including at Lasalgaon, which is the largest wholesale onion market in India. The Nashik District Onion Traders Association had given the call to not take part in onion auctions indefinitely till the Centre rolls back its decision, sources said. Several farmers and traders held protests across the district seeking a rollback of the export duty.
The Union government had introduced a 40 per cent export duty on onions until December 31, prompted by the ongoing surge in onion prices this month.
On August 11, the central government announced the release of onion from its buffer stock in the targeted regions with immediate effect to ensure prices remain under check until the new crop arrives from October onwards, a PTI report said.