Seeking relief: Onion farmers want a minimum support of Rs 3,500 per quintal and compensation of Rs 1,500 per quintal for distress sales
Rain clouds rolled over the onion belt of Maharashtra. Then the winds of war came from West Asia. Prices collapsed. Crops rotted. Farmers counted their losses in rupees and sold tears in quintals.
Across Nashik, Solapur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, onion farmers are reaping a bitter crop this season, as wholesale prices at agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) have collapsed to far below production costs.Prakash Galadhar, a farmer hailing from Paithan taluka in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, transported 1,262 kg of onions he harvested to the market last week. After deductions for labour, loading and transport, his ending balance showed he owed the merchant Re 1.At Satana APMC in Nashik district, farmer Jitendra Solanki brought in 30 quintals in the hope of recovering at least part of his investment. Traders first offered Rs 50 per quintal. After he protested, the price rose to Rs 175 per quintal – Rs 1.75 per kg.However, the numbers refused to add up. “I spent Rs 1,200 per quintal to grow the crops. After the sale, labor and transportation charges, only Rs 500 was left. The loss rose to Rs 36,000,” Solanki said.
Inputs became expensive – seed, fertiliser, diesel, mechanized agriculture and labor costs rose sharply – while market prices sank into the mud.“We sell onions at Rs 4-5 per kg while the production cost is more than Rs 12,” said Bhausaheb Jagtap, a farmer from Pune district. “After paying everyone, there was nothing left,” Jagtap said.Prices have declined since February of this year. At Lasalgaon APMC in Nashik – the country’s largest wholesale onion market and a benchmark for national prices – the kitchen staple is currently selling at between Rs 400 and Rs 1,600 per quintal.
Nearly 80% of expats earn less than Rs 800 per quintal.At Solapur APMC, the number of arrivals on May 13 reached 14,756 quintals. Prices ranged from Rs 100 to Rs 1,700 per quintal, or from Rs 1 to Rs 17 per kg. A year ago, onions were being sold there at Rs 2,500-3,000 per quintal.The break-even price is close to Rs 18 per kg, farmers said. “The losses are huge because nearly 80% of onions are sold at Rs 400-800 per quintal,” said Bharat Degul, president of Maharashtra Onion Growers Association.Market experts blamed the perfect storm: a glut of arrivals, weak domestic demand, disrupted exports and rain-hit mandis.“Geopolitical tensions involving Iran, the US and Israel have disrupted export markets and reduced external demand,” said Vikas Singh, vice president, Horticultural Produce Exporters Association of India.Unseasonal rains from March 19 to 21 dealt another blow to farmers. Rain fell in the Nashik district at the start of the summer onion harvest season, damaging the ready crop and causing it to rot during storage. “Only 30% of the production was grade A,” said Prakash Jadhav, head of onion division at Solapur APMC. “Rain damage and long storage harm quality.”Farmers are demanding that the price of onions be reduced to the minimum support price of Rs 3,500 per quintal. Farmer groups want the Maharashtra government to compensate farmers with Rs 1,500 per quintal for meager sales.(Inputs by Prasad Joshi)
