11 January,2011 06:52 AM IST | | Natasha Gupta
As better quality onions pour in from Pune and Nashik, traders expect rates to stabilise by early February
The second week of January will hopefully bring along better onions for Mumbaikars. The first few truckloads of the new crop of onions from Pune finally started arriving in the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Vashi, yesterday.
The new stock has a deep colour and is better than any of the previous stocks over past weeks. It sold for Rs 25 to Rs 50/kg in the wholesale markets.
The new stock that arrived in APMC, Vashi, yesterday has a deep colour and is better than the stocks the city has seen over the past few weeks
Moreover, owing to the traders' strike in Nashik because of which all markets there are shut, an extra 40 truckloads of onions reached the APMC market yesterday.
Ramchandra Kale, a trader, said, "The stock that I have from Pune is of much better quality than what has been seen in the market in the last two to three months. Around 77 bags arrived at my shop yesterday and we are selling them at Rs 25 to Rs 40/kg."
Ramnath Deshmane, a farmer from Narayangaon in Pune, said, "I have two acres land but this time I got only six quintal onions as opposed to the usual produce of 20 quintal. However, we dried these onions under the sun for three months and finally got a rate of Rs 50/kg."
R B Sanas, a trader at APMC, said that as the Nashik markets are closed, the farmers brought the stock to the APMC market. "The percentage of onions coming in from Nashik was higher today, leading to the extra stock in the market," said Sanas.
He added that prices of onions should stabilise by early February. "They should be back to being around Rs 10 to Rs 20/kg in the wholesale market beginning February," he said.
An APMC official said that 173 vehicles carrying onions reached the market yesterday as compared to the 127 vehicles that arrived on Saturday.
"As compared to the usual quantity, an extra 4,000 quintals of onions reached the market today. We received around 10,000 quintals on Saturday," he said. "The overall price also fell by a few rupees as the price limit today was Rs 18 to Rs 44/kg."
Sanas said that the price of onions fell by Rs 3-4/kg.
APMC Director Ashok Walunj said, "Traders in Nashik went on a strike because of I-T raids. The strike was on today morning and that is why many farmers brought their produce here."
However, with the strike having come to an end, Mumbai will still have to wait for a few more days. "Since everything in Nashik cooled down by evening, I don't think this much stock will come into the market again," he said, adding that prices should stabilise by January 15.
Rate difference
Prices of onions in APMC markets in different districts in the state
Ahmednagar: Rs 10-45/kg
Nashik: Rs 20-40/kg
Pune: Rs 25-40/kg
Irked farmers
Farmers are raging against the Congress-led government and the media. Khopoli Karpe, a farmer from Junnar village in Pune, said, "The Congress government is busy filling its pockets. We are hanging ourselves and dying here."
Santosh Padekar, a trader, said, "The government does not do anything for farmers. The day will come soon when we will have technology to process and take care of our own goods, like the farmers in Australia. Then there will be no exploitation."
He added, "Before the media started reporting it, things were normal. Now with all the media attention, things have gotten worse."
