Nashik's onion traders are continuing their strike for the eighth day, prompting the Maharashtra government to explore an alternative auctioning system.
This new system aims to help farmers sell their onions, maintain a steady onion supply in the market, and prevent any shortages.
Abdul Sattar, the Marketing Minister of Maharashtra, has stressed that traders should not pressure farmers excessively, given the substantial losses farmers face due to onions spoiling in storage.
He also mentioned that the government is actively working on a strategy to limit traders' ability to call for strikes.
Furthermore, the government is considering the option of involving national agencies to assist in buying onions directly from farmers.
Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) are being considered as potential platforms for these agricultural transactions.
Onion farmers in Nashik are requesting government support to enable them to sell their produce directly in the market, as they feel that traders and agents currently have too much control over the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs).
The Nashik traders are striking to demand the removal of the 40% export duty imposed on onions by the government last month.
Additionally, they accuse government agencies like the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) of buying onions from Nashik farmers at lower prices and selling them to APMCs in other states at considerably higher rates for bulk buyers.
