Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a meeting with Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal in Mumbai sought the Centre’s immediate intervention to tackle the problems of onion, soyabean and cotton farmers in the state.
Fadnavis urged him to provide some much-needed respite to cultivators. He also apprised the Union minister of the plight of soyabean and cotton farmers who suffered crop losses following unseasonal rain and hailstorm in Maharashtra. The minister assured that he would consider all the issues.On Thursday, the Centre imposed a ban on onion export till March to ensure its adequate stock in the domestic market and to curb its rising price. An order by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade late Thursday said, “Export policy of onions is amended from free to prohibited till March 31, 2024.”
The decision evoked strong reactions in Maharashtra where onion farmers and traders took to the streets in protest. At Lasalgaon in Nashik district, which has the largest wholesale onion market in the country, farmers blocked the Mumbai-Agra National Highway in angst. All related trading activities in Nashik came to a halt and onion auctions were stopped as a mark of protest.Onion farmers and traders believe the sudden decision to impose curbs on export will adversely impact the sector with the surplus stock likely to cause a crash in prices and subsequent financial losses to them.
In August this year, the Centre imposed 40 per cent duty on onion exports till December 31. The steep duty led to huge protests with traders and farmers’ organisations taking to the streets. All APMCs in Nashik and adjoining districts halted activities for several days and onion auction operations were suspended in Lasalgaon for almost a month.