Mandis in Nasik to reopen after 3 days’ closure
The government is considering a proposal to introduce a floor price for onion exports, to ensure that 40% export duty imposed last week don’t lead to under invoicing of shipments of the stable vegetables.
Sources said several onion exporters on Wednesday met the officials of the department of consumer affairs and urged for floor price to be fixed between $ 320-350/tonne as declaration of lower prices in the range of $ 180-220/tonne has commenced at land borders and ports.
“Without a flour price, some elements may adopt unfair practices of using lower invoice rates for calculation of the export duty on onion,” a leading onion exporter said on the condition of anonymity.
Officials are understood to be examining the issue of fixing floor price on onion exports.
Meanwhile mandis in Nasik district of Maharashtra, the hub of the country’s onion production and trade, will reopen on Thursday after three days of closure as traders protested against the imposition of export duty.
“We have decided to open mandis for onion trade tomorrow and depending on the prices we will decide on the future course of action,” Jaydutt Holkar, director, APMC, Lasalgaon, Maharashtra, the hub of the onion trade in the country, told FE.
Food and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday had promised to procure 0.2 million tonne (MT) of onion from farmers at a highest ever rate of Rs 2410/quintal, higher than the prevailing mandi price of Rs 2000/quintal, as it sought to help farmers hit by the prohibitive 40% export tax on the vegetable.
However, onion farmers and traders felt the move would not make any significant difference in the market, as the government’s ability to procure and store the vegetable is “limited.”
The National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF) and the farmers’ cooperative Nafed will purchase an additional 0.2 MT of onion from farmers in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh over the next few weeks as a part of creation of 0.5 MT of buffer stock.
Onion exports rose by more than 26% to 0.63 MT during April-June (2023-24) compared to the same period previous fiscal prompting the government to impose export duty on Saturday till December 31, 2023.This is the first intervention in onion exports since January, 2021. The government has not imposed a ban on onion exports since 2021 which was the norm a few years back.
Inflation in onion, which had been in the negative zone since September, 2021, rose to 11.72% in July against 1.65% in June.
According to the department, the modal retail prices of onion rose from Rs 20/kg since the beginning of the year, to Rs 30/kg on Wednesday. Rating agency Crisil in a recent report said retail onion prices are expected to hit Rs 60-70/kg next month.
Retail prices of onion have started to rise for the first time in the last couple of weeks after nearly two years due to reports of sluggish kharif sowing on delayed arrival of monsoon in the key producing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.
High moisture content in the stored rabi crops because of un-seasonal rains in Maharashtra and Karnataka in April has reduced the shelf-life of the staple, causing fears of supply constraints by September
Source:financialexpress.com