Maharashtra to supply onion to Assam

Mumbai: If all goes according to plan, onion producers in the state will get one more new market in Assam in addition to West Bengal and Bangladesh. Assam and West Bengal have a demand of 8 lakh metric tonnes of onion, grapes and pomegranate along with 10 lakh eggs per day.

Plans are in the offing to begin railway wagons between Assam and Maharashtra. The state cabinet has approved deputing officials in both states to coordinate between traders and farmers. Minister of state for agriculture Sadabhau Khot recently visited Assam and West Bengal to expand market opportunities in these states. “These two states have huge demand for onion, grapes and pomegranate as well as eggs. At present, most of the onion in Kolkata markets is from Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. If they can sell their products, why not Maharashtra! This pushed me to find out new markets,” said Mr Khot.

The minister met traders in Assam and the owner of “Sufla-Bangla”, a supermarket chain in Kolkata.