The Maharashtra State Onion Producer Farmers Organisation has alleged that the government is suppressing onion prices in wholesale and retail markets to gain political advantage before the upcoming elections in the state and the assembly elections in Bihar. Not only this, Farmer leaders stated that such policies are causing heavy losses to onion farmers and could fuel the agitation of farmers.
What did the Onion Farmers say?
Onion Farmers from Maharashtra stated that they cultivated around 163 lakh tonnes of summer onions in the last season, with Nashik district alone accounting for around 80 per cent of this production. Onion farmers have been releasing stored onions into the market since May. However, over 40 lakh tonnes of onions are kept in storage despite large-scale production. Onion Farmers have expressed their waiting for better prices, but storing onions for a longer time could be prone to rotting. As per reports from Nashik, around 20 per cent of the stored onions have already degraded. Those bringing onions to market are receiving an average price of ₹1,263 per tonne, far lower than the ₹3,078 per tonne that onion farmers got in August 2024. Onion farmers are selling at almost 60 per cent less than last year. Still, it is not allowing them to recover even basic cultivation and storage costs.
Onion Farmers are still optimistic
On a related note, some onion farmers are still optimistic about a recovery. Notably, Heavy rains in Karnataka have damaged a significant quantity of onions. Concludingly, this damage has given rise to the expectations that increased supply from the southern state may improve onion prices in Maharashtra in the coming weeks. On the other hand, Farmer organisations are planning to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the authorities of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to demand government intervention. Onion Farmers are demanding that the government purchase their produce at fair prices and take measures to prevent distress sales during the election season