Centre to buy 2 lakh metric tonnes onion at Rs 2,410 per quintal: Maha Dy CM

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the Centre has decided to purchase two lakh metric tonnes of onion at the rate of Rs 2410 per quintal and expressed hope this will provide relief to producers of the key kitchen staple in the stateHe also said special procurement centres will be set up in Nashik and Ahmednagar in the stateThe announcement comes amid protests by farmers and traders against the Centres decision to impose 40 per cent export duty on onions to check price rise and improve supplies in the domestic marketThe Finance Ministry through a notification on August 19 imposed the 40 per cent export duty on onions till December 31 2023Fadnavis who is currently on a visit to Japan in a post on X said ldquoI spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal regarding the onion issue The Union government would procure two lakh metric tonnes of onion at the rate of Rs 2410 per quintalrdquoldquoThere will be special procurement centres set up in Nashik and Ahmednagar districts for the same It would offer some relief to the onion growers in the staterdquo the deputy CM addedOn Monday traders in Nashik decided to indefinitely close onion auctions in all Agriculture Produce Market Committees APMCs in the district as a protest against the central governments decision to impose a 40 per cent duty on onion exportsAlso read Maharashtra Onion auction to remain closed indefinitely in Nashik wholesale markets to protest 40 pc duty on exportMost APMCs in the district including Lasalgaon Indias largest wholesale onion market remained closed on Monday in response to this decisionThe traders argue that this export duty in effect until December 31 2023 will have a detrimental impact on onion growers and the export of the stapleThe decision to indefinitely halt onion auctions was made during a meeting of the Nashik District Onion Traders Association on Sunday according to Khandu Deore the associations presidentDeore stated If onions are brought to an APMC and the decision takes time to reach farmers then the auction of those onions will be conducted and the process will then remain closed indefinitelySanjay Pingle president of the onionpotato market at the Vashi APMC in Navi Mumbai urged the central government to reconsider the 40 per cent export duty on onions He claimed this decision would significantly harm onion growers in the statePingle said We are also under a lot of pressure from farmers asking us to shut down the market and stop the sale of onions At least 1015 associations have asked us not to sell the onions The entire Nashik district is observing a closure of onion auctions today In the coming days local markets will also close The APMC has also decided to support the farmersHe argued that if they pay a 40 per cent duty to the government the price of exported onions previously sold at Rs 25 per kilogram would drop to Rs 15 Such prices would force them to purchase onions at Rs 10 a rate that wouldnt even cover a farmers production costPingle also claimed that some agency had provided a misleading report to the central government on this issue failing to consider the increased costs of fertilizers labor and other factors in onion productionHe suggested that the government should provide onions through the public distribution system PDS similar to what is done for rice and wheat This he believed would ensure that onions are available to the poor at a lower costPingle further argued that the governments decision would significantly reduce onion exports benefiting farmers in Pakistan Iran and EgyptHe called on Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to address this issue with the central government and urged the government to convene a stakeholder meeting before implementing the export duty Agencies