Maha CM Eknath Shinde in assembly says we're with onion farmers

Maharashtra state chief minister Eknath Shinde told the legislative assembly that his government is with the onion farmers, amid reports of falling prices of the key kitchen staple in the wholesale market, and talked of financial help for the growers if required.

We are firmly standing by the onion growers in the state. NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited) has started onion procurement and that would push the prices up, said Shinde.

On our request, NAFED has increased its onion procurement and 2.38 lakh tonnes (of onion) have already been purchased from farmers. If a particular area does not have a procurement centre, then it will be opened for farmers, Shinde said on the second day of the budget session of the state legislature.

The price per kilogram of onion came down to Rs 2 to Rs 4 on Monday at Maharashtra’s Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee, Asia’s biggest onion market, prompting angry farmers to stop the auction of the bulb.

There is no ban on export of onions. If required, farmers will get some financial assistance as well, the chief minister said. Earlier in the assembly, Chhagan Bhujbal, an NCP leader from Nashik district, spoke about farmers' distress and questioned the Centre's policy over onion.

One of the biggest onion wholesale markets in the state is in my constituency. As per available information, there is a huge demand for Indian onion in countries like Turkiye, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Morocco, Uzbekistan and Belarus. We should export onion so that it benefits our farmers, said the senior Nationalist Congress Party leader.