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Onion trading remained suspended in major wholesale markets of Gujarat Monday as traders refused to purchase the bulbs to protest the abrupt ban imposed by the Central government on its exports on December 8.
No auction took place on the yards of agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) in Gondal and Rajkot in the district, and Mahuva of Bhavnagar district — among the biggest wholesale markets of onions in the state.
“Due to the export ban, the price of onion slid from Rs 4,000 per quintal (100 kg make one quintal) to Rs 2,500 per quintal. Farmers said they did not want to sell the onions at such a low price. Therefore, no trading of onion took place on our APMC yard though the administration has not ordered any suspension,” Rajkot APMC chairman Jayesh Boghra told The Indian Express.
However, sources at Rajkot APMC said traders had decided not to take part in the auction. “Traders said they cannot purchase fresh stocks from farmers until those they purchased in the preceding days are disposed of. Therefore, they told us that they won’t take part in the auction. Hence, we had to inform farmers about the situation and ask them not to cart their onions to the APMC yard until further notice,” said a source.
Mahuva APMC chairman Ghanshyam Patel said onion-trading remained suspended on December 9 and Monday. “Traders stayed away from auctions as a mark of protest against the abrupt ban on onion exports,” Patel said, adding, “The ban on exports goes against the stated policy of giving remunerative prices to farmers. Last year, farmers were getting only Rs 350 per quintal. This year, they were getting around Rs 3,500. But prices shot up as sowing of onion in August-September was low in Gujarat due to excessive rain in August and lack of rain in September. Then showers in late September damaged the crop. So, yields are very low, keeping arrivals low in APMC mandis and ramping up prices.”
According to Ashok Talavaiya, an onion trader in Rajkot APMC mandi, every trader is going to suffer an average loss of Rs 3 lakh per truck due to the government’s abrupt decision. “In such a situation, the payment cycle of traders has been disrupted and they cannot focus on purchasing new stocks,” he said.
Neither farmers nor traders are willing to do business since prices have crashed, said Yogesh Kyada, president of Gondal APMC Commission Agents Association. “After the overnight ban, prices crashed by 35 per cent to 40 per cent. While farmers are finding this price low, traders are making desperate efforts to minimise their losses as bulk of onion exports are to Bangladesh. A trader would have on average three dozen , each loaded with 30 quintal onions, headed to Bangladesh were in transit. Due to the exports ban, traders are forced to divert these consignments elsewhere,” said Kyada, adding that more than 1,000 onion trucks were headed to Bangladesh when the government imposed a blanket ban on exports on December 8 to keep prices of the vegetable in check.
“Bangladesh was importing the cheapest of Indian onions, which hardly get any customers in India, at Rs 2000 per quintal. But due to the ban on exports, now farmers will not find any takers for their lot of the poor quality onion,” Mahuva APMC’s Patel explained.
He said he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the export ban. “It is a fact that onion growers had suffered losses last year and the Gujarat government’s assistance of Rs 2 per kg is proof of it. When the market is helping farmers recoup some of those losses, it is unfair on the part of the government to take such a step.”
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