Onion Price Fall: Patil Urges Govt Action

Mumbai, Apr 15 (PTI) NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil on Wednesday said farmers are in deep distress due to a "sharp fall in onion prices following a halt in exports", even as production costs remain "high", urging government intervention.

However, Maharashtra onion growers have alleged that both the Centre and the Opposition were responsible for their financial distress. It urged all MPs from the state to unite and raise concerns over the kitchen staple.

In a statement on X, Patil said the cost of onion production is around Rs 2,200 per quintal, while farmers are currently getting only Rs 900 to Rs 1,300 per quintal in the market.

He said farmers are facing a double crisis, with exports affected due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia and unseasonal weather damaging crops that had reached the harvesting stage.

Patil urged the state government to intervene immediately, step up efforts to resume onion exports and announce a fair remunerative price to provide relief to farmers. The farming community is under severe stress and needs urgent support, he said.

"On one hand, exports have been stopped due to the war-like situation, and on the other hand, crops ready for harvest have been damaged due to unseasonal rains. This double crisis has pushed farmers into severe difficulty.

"The chief minister must intervene immediately, intensify efforts to resume onion exports, and announce a fair minimum support price for farmers," he said in the statement.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra State Onion Growers Association blamed the Centre and the opposition for being "responsible" for the ongoing financial distress faced by onion farmers in the state.

Its founder-president Bharat Dighole told PTI that the Centre's 2023 decision to impose a 'sudden ban' on onion exports, followed by restrictions such as export duty and a Minimum Export Price, led to a sharp fall in prices, severely impacting farmers.


He claimed that the "resentment among farmers was reflected in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where several ruling party MPs from the onion-growing belt in Maharashtra were defeated".

The farmers' leader also criticised the Opposition, particularly MPs of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), for their "inaction" on the issue.

"Despite being elected with the support of farmers, the 31 MVA MPs from Maharashtra have failed to take a strong and united stand on the onion crisis," Dighole said.

He added that while statements and social media posts by Opposition leaders, including Jayant Patil, were welcome, they were not enough to address the crisis.

Dighole urged all MPs and MLAs from Maharashtra to set aside political differences and jointly raise the issue in Delhi to pressure the Centre into taking corrective measures.

He alleged that the Centre's policies were "anti-farmer" and said the Opposition's lack of assertiveness had further aggravated the situation.

"Farmers are unable to recover even their production costs. If leaders do not act now, they will be held accountable by farmers at the appropriate time," he said.

Dighole said in the APMCs (Agricultural Produce Market Committees), the Khariff onion crop is selling between Rs 300 and Rs 700 per quintal, while the Rabi onion crop rate is Rs 500 to Rs 1,100 per quintal. The production cost is Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,000 per quintal, he added.

He said there is an overall decrease of 30 per cent in onion exports, while the figures for Gulf countries have dropped between 55 and 60 per cent.