Onion Farmers Protest on Mumbai NH, Halting Auctions due to Export Ban
Published on: December 8, 2023.
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Onion Farmers in Maharashtra Protest Onion Export Ban
Onion farmers in Maharashtra’s Nashik blocked the Mumbai Agra Highway and halted auctions in wholesale markets after the Indian government announced a ban on onion exports. The ban, effective until March 31, 2024, aims to increase domestic availability and stabilize prices.
Farmers staged protests at various onion markets in Nashik, including Lasalgaon, Chandwad, Nandgaon, Dindori, Yeola, and Umarane. While auctions were not held at Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), they were conducted at Vinchur and Niphad sub-committees.
Around 600 vehicles loaded with onions arrived at Vinchur, with prices ranging from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,300 per quintal. The average price was Rs 2,700 per quintal. To express their grievances, hundreds of cultivators gathered on the Mumbai-Agra Highway and blocked the road using tractors at three locations.
The protests concluded peacefully after appeals from the Nashik police, and no force was used against the farmers. Balasaheb Kshirsagar, the chairperson of Lasalgaon APMC, criticized the government’s decision, stating that onion prices had not been rising sharply and had even decreased in the past few days.
Many farmers blamed middlemen for the price increase and demanded that the government sell onions directly, eliminating intermediaries. Kiran Darade, a protesting farmer, emphasized that the ban was imposed without prior notice or complaints from farmers who were already suffering losses due to unseasonal rainfall and hail.
Earlier in October, the government had increased the sale of buffer onion stock in retail markets at a subsidized rate of Rs 25 per kg to provide relief to consumers. Additionally, a minimum export price of USD 800 per tonne was imposed on onion exports from October 28 to December 31.
Details regarding the ban’s impact on farmers and the onion market are yet to unfold. The protests shed light on the challenges faced by farmers and the need for effective policies to support them.
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