Tale of an onion farmer: Not a penny to take home for this Solapur man

Even as prices of onions have come down considerably, farmers complain that they are unable to recover even the production cost. Basvangauda Gaudar, a farmer from Solapur has claimed that he had to pay ₹548 to the ASU trader for the sale of 1,890 kilogrammes of onions.Instead of gaining money after selling the produce, he was at a loss. He could not recover even the transport cost.

Low prices of vegetables and high tranportation cost has led to this scenario.

According to Gaudar, the fall in onion prices has affected several farmers like him. So, despite a good crop this season, the farmers have not made profit.

“I sent 1890 kilogrammes of onions through a tempo to the Solapur based Agriculture produce market committee and received the rate of an average of ₹1 per kilogramme. I produced two varieties of onions. So, the bill mounted to ₹1,681.50. The other costs including transportation, loading and unloading went up to 2229.77. So, I had to pay ₹548 to the trader. I could not take home any money and that was disappointing ,” said Gaudar.

The transportation charges mounted to ₹1,994, cost of labour was ₹180.01 and weighing charges went to ₹55.76. Gaudar was worried as to how he will repay his loan.

“I was expecting at least ₹10-15 per kg rate because onion rates are good in the retail market. However, I was disappointed after receiving such a deal,” Gaudar said. 

Inspite of several attempts, Appasaheb Umbarje,owner of ASU traders could not be reached for comment.

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