Fall in prices makes onion farmers cry; state may announce help soon

Prices fall to ₹150-₹690 a quintal against avg of ₹2K; farmers send meagre earnings to CM, PM

MUMBAI: Falling onion prices spell a fresh round of trouble for farmers in Maharashtra, who are already distressed owing to drought and acute water shortage in almost 70% areas in the state.

The onion prices dipped to as low as ₹150-₹690 a quintal from the average of ₹2,000 a quintal, which means farmers won’t be able to recover their production cost of ₹900 a quintal. The state plans to extend help to the farmers, decision on which is likely to come in the next cabinet meeting on Tuesday. State cooperation and agricultural marketing minister Subhash Deshmukh said they may provide some sort of direct subsidy to the farmers.

Farmers want export subsidy to be increased to 10% from the existing 5%, to encourage traders to export, ultimately preventing the fall in prices. A delegation from Lasalgaon agriculture produce market committee senior official.

Jaydatta Holkar, chairman, agriculture produce market committee of Lasalgaon, Nashik, said, “The situation has worsened as the prices have come to an average of ₹350 a quintal, while the government estimates the production cost to ₹850 a quintal.”

He said storing of rabi crop is a usual affair, which is encouraged by the state as well. The government also provides a subsidy of around 30% for storing onion stock.

Lasalgaon is the biggest onion market in Asia. Holkar also led a delegation to PM Modi, demanding a subsidy of ₹1,000 a quintal.

“The prime minister promised to look into the matter and take a decision soon,” he said.

“We are aware of the falling prices of onion which need some remedy. The state provides a transportation subsidy to onion producers, which is 50% of the transportation cost, in case a farmer has travelled more than 700km to bring his produce to the market. We are now studying what else can be done to help them survive the situation,” Deshmukh said, adding the government can’t buy onion produce as it is a perishable item.