24 August,2023 02:43 PM IST | Nashik | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic
More than 500 farmers on Thursday blocked the Mumbai-Agra highway in Nashik in Maharashtra for some time seeking cancellation of the Union government's decision to impose 40 per cent export duty on onions, an official said, reported the PTI.
The stir took place in Chandwad in the rural part of the district and the arterial road was blocked for almost one-and-half hours before police rushed to the site and managed to get the protesters off the stretch, he said.
The stir against the export duty has been underway in the district since Monday, which had also affected the auction of the kitchen staple.
The Union government on August 19 imposed 40 per cent duty on the export of onions to increase domestic availability amid signs of increasing prices and in view of the upcoming festival season.
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The export duty, which is the first time ever on onion, was imposed by the Finance Ministry through a Customs notification and will be in force till December 31.
Between April 1 and August 4 this fiscal, 9.75 lakh tonne of onions have been exported from the country. The top three importing countries in value terms are Bangladesh, Malaysia and the UAE.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the opposition Congress staged a protest in Maharashtra's Pune city on Wednesday demanding the withdrawal of the 40 per cent duty imposed on onion exports and accused the BJP-led Centre of being anti-farmer, reported the PTI.
Carrying onion garlands, Congress state president Nana Patole along with agitating farmers and many Congress leaders held a 'rasta roko', according to the PTI.
I met several onion growers and traders in Pune at the market in Chakan. By imposing a 40 per cent duty on exports of the onions, the government has rubbed salt on the wounds of farmers, Nana Patole said.
Asked about the government's assurance of procuring onions through NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) and National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF), Nana Patole said everyone is aware of the condition of NAFED.
Onion is a perishable commodity and if NAFED buys the produce after 10 days and if the produce gets damaged, will the government pay compensation, he asked.
He called the Centre anti-farmer.
Nana Patole said if the government claims that it is really sensitive towards the farmers, then it has to lift this 40 per cent duty.
He said, If onions are exported, then farmers will get some money. But the BJP at the Centre wants farmers to not earn money and instead remain debt-ridden.
Onion auctions at most of the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Market Committee (APMC) markets in Nashik, including Asia's biggest wholesale onion market at Lasalgaon, have been closed as traders are against the hike in the export duty on the kitchen staple.
(with PTI inputs)
