The Nashik district of Maharashtra’s onion dealers have announced that they have postponed auctions in all agricultural product market committees and that their protest would last indefinitely. This move has caused consumers to worry a lack of the kitchen staple in retail marketplaces and an increase in price.
On Wednesday, a representative of the Nashik District Onion Traders Association (NDOTA) said the group was opposing the recent decision by the Union government to raise the export tax on onions by up to 40%, a decision that would stay in effect until December 31.
The District Sub-registrar for Co-operative Societies issued an order on Wednesday night instructing all APMCs to suspend or revoke the licenses of the striking merchants and submit the Action Taken Report by September 21 after taking serious notice of the situation.
“We have decided to halt the auction of onions in all APMCs in the district indefinitely in protest against the decision to increase export duties. In addition to making it more challenging to export onions, the Centre’s decision will also have an impact on onions in transit, which will result in a significant loss for farmers, the office-bearer added.
Wednesday morning, Maharashtra’s marketing minister Abdul Sattar remarked that it was improper to observe a bandh, which would have prevented onion auctions from taking place.
He added on the sidelines of an event, “Secretaries in the departments of cooperation and marketing would consider the action to be done as per guidelines and Nashik district collector will take the appropriate action.
Notably, most of the APMCs in the Nashik area, including Lasalgaon, the biggest wholesale onion market in India, kept their onion auctions closed on August 20.
“We had given the administration till September 19 to respond to our requests. We have chosen to halt the onion auction indefinitely, however, since our conditions have not yet been met, the office-bearer said.
Other demands made by traders include the removal of the export tax on onions, a 50% cut in market fees, participation in auctions by the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), and a 50% subsidy on the transport of onions.
As a result, on Wednesday, onion auctions were not held in all APMCs in the Nashik district, including the Lasalgaon APMC. According to reports, no onions arrived to APMCs.
According to the government order, Khandu Deore, head of the Nashik District Onion Traders Association, wrote minister Sattar on September 13 with four requests and a threat to stop taking part in onion auctions as of September 19.
In light of this, the minister has scheduled a meeting with departmental representatives from Marketing for September 26.
The minister also asked the shopkeepers to postpone their protest. Despite this, the traders and brokers went on strike, which created several issues for farmers while trying to sell their different agro products, according to the order.
“The traders and brokers continued to be resolute in their position even at the meeting conducted by the government on Wednesday (Sept 20). The decision to take urgent legal action as a consequence was made, it stated.
Accordingly, all APMCs must make alternative arrangements and take required steps to maintain the sale and purchase of agricultural products in accordance with the Maharashtra Agriculture products Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 1963.
The licenses of such dealers are subject to suspension or cancellation by APMCs. The APMCs must promptly suspend or revoke the licenses of such dealers in accordance with the law. The directive also said that a required procedure should be put in place to give licenses to new purchasers who wish to acquire commodities at the APMCs.
The ruling also said that the board of directors and secretary of an APMC would be subject to disciplinary action should they fail to comply with it.
