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Wholesale onion markets in Nashik to resume auction today
APMCs in Nashik has decided to resume auctions from Thursday after meeting Union minister Dr Bharati Pawar
Pune: The Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMC) of Lasalgaon in Nashik, Asia’s largest onion market, has decided to resume auctions from Thursday. They were on protest over the Centre’s imposition of a 40 per cent export duty on the kitchen staple since last three days.
According to a traders’ representative, the decision was taken at a meeting of the representatives of traders-exporters and farmers with Union minister Dr Bharati Pawar here on Wednesday.
Pawar, the Union minister of state for health and family Welfare and member of Parliament from Dindori in Nashik, said, “After a heated debate since past three days over the Centre’s export duty decision, the traders have agreed today to restart APMC markets in Nashik for the benefit of farmers. About the 40 per cent export duty, we will request the Centre to rethink and take a positive decision on the issue.”
While traders were firm not to purchase onions, farmers in several parts of Maharashtra staged protest to oppose the 40 per cent export duty fearing the move will result in fall in prices in domestic markets.
Pawar said that as per the announcement made Union minister Piyush Goyal, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) will purchase onion from farmers at ₹2,410 per quintal.
“Whichever rate is good for farmers, they can sell the commodity as the markets will resume now,” she said.
During the meeting, the minister assured that the Centre will look into the demand of traders-exporters on allowing onions at ports and India-Bangladesh border waiting to be shipped without export duty.
According to Pawar, Goyal has instructed the Nashik district collector to give a detailed information about the containers of traders stranded at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Raigad) and other places.
Khandu Kaka Deore, president, Nashik district traders’ association, said, “Although traders have closed the auction markets, we are buying onion from farmers. We have withdrawn the protest after the assurance from the minister.”
District collector Jalaj Sharma, Chandwad MLA Rahul Aher and NAFED officials attended the meeting.
