Onions prices might go up; Maharashtra onion traders go on indefinite strike from today

Prices of onion might go up as more than 500 onion traders from Maharashtra’s Nasik have started an indefinite strike today, demanding the Centre develop its own supply chain to dispose of onions in retail markets.
The onion supply chain in different parts of the country is likely to get affected as the traders have decided not to participate in the onion auctions at the mandis.
The move comes after the Centre imposed a 40 percent duty on exports of the kitchen staple to control the price rise of onions due to insufficient supply in the markets.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (Nafed) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF), according to the onion traders, are buying onions from farmers in Nashik and selling them to Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) in various parts of the country at prices significantly less than what the traders charge their bulk buyers. Some vendors estimated the price differential to be between Rs. 500 and Rs. 700 per quintal.
In other wholesale markets, both national agencies are selling the produce for an average of about Rs. 1,500 per quintal. The country’s largest wholesale onion market, Lasalgaon APMC, has an average wholesale onion price of roughly Rs 2,000 per quintal, according to onion seller Kshitij Jain.
“Given the transport cost of Rs 300 per quintal and labour charges of Rs 150 per quintal, onions cost us around Rs 2,500 per quintal. Then how can we sell the produce in other states while both the central agencies are selling onions at a lower rate than us?” asked Jain.
It may be mentioned here that the Nafed and NCCF bought 3 lakh quintals of onions in the first phase and are currently buying an additional 2 lakh quintals in Nashik, reports said.

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