First excess rain, Now onions bring tears to farmers’ eyes

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

After suffering from excessive rains, farmers are now facing another blow: the sharp fall in onion prices. In the Jadhavwadi Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), onions are being sold at Rs 15 per kg in wholesale and Rs 20 per kg in the vegetable market. Farmers had hoped that lower prices would increase demand, but sales have also slowed down, dealing a double setback to them.

Wholesale prices drop to Rs 600 per quintal

In the APMC yard at Jadhavwadi, wholesale prices for onions have dropped to between Rs 600 and Rs 1,500 per quintal. On Saturday, the market received an arrival of 1,315 quintals of onions.

Prices halved in just a month

A month ago, onions were being sold for Rs 40 per kg at the Aurangpura vegetable market. The same old stock of double-layered onions was sold on Sunday for just Rs 20 per kg, a 50% drop in price within a month.

Why the onion market has slumped

There are several reasons for the decline in onion prices. The arrival of the new onion crop is expected soon, leading farmers to sell off their old stock. Although Maharashtra’s onion crop suffered from heavy rainfall this year, prices did not rise due to low export demand. Normally, around 40% of India’s onion exports go to Bangladesh, but exports to that country have decreased significantly. Additionally, the wedding season has been delayed by about a month this year. All these factors together have contributed to the current slump in onion prices.

— Sanjay Waghmare, Vegetable Vendor

Caption:

Onions brought for sale at the vegetable market.