There was a need to withdraw the 20% export duty on onions, considering the rising arrival of the produce in the market which may bring the wholesale prices down in the next few weeks, farmers said on Saturday, expressing disappointment over the budget lacking any announcement for the crop.
“The arrival of late kharif onion is in full swing while the summer crop will be ready for harvest in March.
If measures to increase the demand are not taken, the prices are likely to drop further,” Bharat Dighole, president of Maharashtra State Onion Growers Association, said.
Nivrutti Nyaharkar, a farmer, said there was no proper coordination between the Union ministries of agriculture, commerce, and consumer affairs to take timely decisions on the crop. “During the visit of Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to Nashik city last month, we had sought the removal of the 20% duty to boost export, but the minister told us to take up the issue with the commerce ministry.”
Hence, an onion board on the lines of the one for coconut should have been set up to keep records of cultivation areas and amount of production, Nyaharkar said.
Dighole said the Centre should have at least created a separate fund to compensate farmers after they incurred financial losses due to a decline in prices.