Govt keeps watch on onion prices after Lasalgaon shuts operations

nNEW DELHI : The consumer affairs ministry is monitoring prices of essential commodities, including that of onion, after a coronavirus positive case in Maharashtra’s Nashik led to a shutdown of Lasalgaon, Asia’s largest onion trading hub.

A Covid-19 positive case came to light in Nashik on March 30, forcing suspension of operations in Lasalgaon, which subsequently affected the supplies. However, an official of the market said the operations in most onion markets in Nashik will resume on Tuesday

“We, at Lasalgaon, have decided to resume trading on Tuesday (April 7). The district collector ordered the shutdown because the corona positive patient was a major bakery supplier who regularly supplied pav (Indian bread) to the entire area,” Narendra Wadhwane, the secretary of the Lasalgaon agriculture produce market committee or APMC, said on Sunday.

While markets in Nashik are closed, onion supplies from Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have continued.

“Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh account for over nearly twothirds of late kharif onion crop, which is the crop that has hit markets now, said Shirish Jamdade, a horticulture department official in Pune.

APMCS are state-regulated bodies that run wholesale markets in the country.

According to a government note, state officials have compiled a list of all onion traders and suppliers and shared the list to counterparts in various states to facilitate supplies.

The principal secretary of the state agricultural marketing recommended market committees to tell farmers to bring harvest prepacked in gunny backs to speed up trade. “Since the lockdown, 1,650 truck load of onions have been dispatched by traders of Nashik to various parts of the country, which has helped in maintaining in steady supplies,” the government note said.