Centre's ban on onion exports: Farmers protest on Mumbai-Agra Highway, stop auctions

Mumbai, Dec 8 (PTI) Onion farmers blocked the Mumbai Agra Highway at three places in Maharashtra's Nashik and stopped auctions in wholesale markets of the district on Friday after the Centre announced a ban on the export of the kitchen staple, police said.

The Centre has banned onion exports till March 31, 2024, to increase domestic availability and to keep prices in check.

Farmers stopped auctions at onion markets of Lasalgaon, Chandwad, Nandgaon, Dindori, Yeola, Umarane and other places in Nashik district on Friday, an official said.

According to officials, auctions were not held at Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), but were conducted at Vinchur and Niphad sub-committees of Lasalgaon APMC.

As many as 600 vehicles laden with onions arrived at Vinchur on Friday. The minimum price was at Rs 1,500 per quintal, maximum at Rs 3,300 per quintal and Rs 2,700 per quintal average, they said.

Hundreds of cultivators gathered on the Mumbai-Agra Highway and blocked the road using tractors at three places for some time, the official said.

Farmers also staged rasta rokos at Jaikheda, Chandwad, Umarane, Nandgaon and Mungse in Malegaon, he said.

Protestors dispersed peacefully after appeals by the Nashik police, and no force was used on the farmers, the official said.

Talking to PTI, Lasalgaon APMC chairperson Balasaheb Kshirsagar said, “The Centre’s decision is not in favour of farmers. Onion prices were not rising sharply and had come down in the last five to six days. This decision will cause losses to farmers and we demand a rollback.” At present, the prices are Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 per quintal, though people are selling it at Rs 3,000 per quintal, he said, blaming middlemen for increasing the prices.

There should be no middlemen, and the government should decide to sell onions directly, he said.

Kiran Darade, a farmer agitating at Yeola, said, “The Union government imposed the export ban without any intimation or complaint. Farmers have suffered losses due to unseasonal rainfall and hail. Corn and onion crops have suffered. The ban should be revoked as soon as possible.” Earlier in October, the Centre had decided to step up the sale of buffer onion stock at the subsidised rate of Rs 25 per kg in retail markets to provide relief to consumers.

To control prices, the government imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of USD 800 per tonne on onion exports from October 28 to December 31 this year.

In August, India had imposed a 40 per cent export duty on onions up to December 31. PTI