Mumbai: Onion farmers in Maharashtra are fuming over the Centre's decision to impose export duty of 40 percent on onions till December 31. To protest against the move, they closed onion auctions indefinitely in all the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) in Nashik district.
On Monday, the onion auctions remained closed at most of the APMCs in Nashik, including at Lasalgaon, the largest wholesale onion market in India. In addition to this, the protests included a sit-in agitation on Nashik-Aurangabad highway in which farmers wore garlands made of onions and shouted slogans against the Centre’s decision.
Activists of the Late Sharad Joshi Shetkari Sanghatana also staged a rasta-roko (traffic stoppage) in front of Yeola APMC on Manmad-Yeola highway and demanded the export duty decision should be revoked.
Protesting farmers said the central government’s decision to impose a 40 percent duty on the export of onions till December 31 will adversely affect the onion growers and its export. It will spoil their chances of getting good price for the onion, they said.
The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the farmers' body, has appealed to all APMCs across Maharashtra to halt the trading of onions. “Not only in Nashik, but across Maharashtra, farmers will come out to protest against the government's move to impose export duty on onions,” AIKS general secretary Ajit Nawale said.
“The central government has continuously adopted anti-farmer policies. It turns a blind eye when farmers suffer the losses and just when they had started earning some money, the Centre intervened and dropped the prices of onions. To protest against this, farmers across Maharashtra will boycott the sale of opinions at the APMCs,” he added.
However, Union minister of state Bharati Pawar defended 40 per cent duty on exports and said that the decision was taken for the benefit of farmers as well as domestic consumers.
Maharashtra accounts for the highest onion production in the country accounting upto 30 percent of the onion production.
The Union government on August 19 imposed a 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. 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.
