Onion still costly at Nashik APMCs

Nashik: Onion prices at Nashik agricultural produce market committee (APMC) markets remained high on Monday, while the ‘unhal’ variety fetched a premium, despite the Central government levying the minimum export price (MEP) of USD850 per tonne. MEP is the minimum official price by which exporters may sell their product in international markets and indirectly reduce exports.

This is due to extreme shortage of the important vegetable throughout the country and the present ‘lal’ variety of onion not being exported. “This ‘lal’ variety is for domestic consumption and is never exported. The ‘unhal’ onion, stocks of which are exhausted, was exported,” Chandwad APMC chairman Dr Atmaram Kumbharde said.

Dr Kumbharde, however, cautioned that the effect of MEP would be felt by December end, when the ‘rangda’ variety of onion is harvested. This variety is exported. Nashik is the only place in the world where three onion crops are taken in an agriculture year.

Last week, the Centre levied MEP of $ 850 per tonne on onions.

On Friday, the MEP announcement did not impact thesentiment much as onion prices decreased slightly by Rs 1/kg over Thursday’s rates, possibly due to the weekend.

MEP, which effectively stems rising onion prices, has been used extensively by earlier governments.

The present state government hadbrought MEP down to zero in December 2015, and has now implemented it for the first time.

Lasalgaon APMC chairman Jaydatt Holkar said the decision was totally wrong as the new ‘red’ variety onion was arriving and prices would have dropped anyway.

“About four months back, when farmers made a distress sale of onion at Rs 3 per kg, the government did not intervene. Now that prices are right, the government is thinking only about consumers. It should do justice to farmers too,” Mr Holkar said.

Former Shetkari Sanghatana activist and lawyer Nana Jadhav said that the onion was the only profitable crop as prices of all crops have fallen.