Onion farmers in tears as traders boycott auction
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Merchants object to non-member trader taking part in auction
A truckload of onions at Lasalgaon
After hailstorm wreaked havoc on their crops earlier this year, farmers in Lasalgaon – Asia’s largest wholesale market for onions – are in tears once again as traders have boycotted the auction of their produce.
Led by the Lasalgaon Traders Association (LTA), merchants on Thursday continued to abstain from buying the produce, forcing the hapless farmers to return home with their unsold produce for the third day running. Many others had refrained from bringing their stock to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) altogether. The losses suffered due to this impasse are estimated to be over Rs. 50 lakh a day. Significantly, the situation in Lasalgaon has a bearing on the price of the edible bulb throughout the country.
The boycott came about after the traders’ association raised objections to the participation of a non-member trader in the auction. The traders have stipulated that only a member of the LTA should be allowed participation in the auction. But as per APMC rules, one of the 300 in the State, anyone with an APMC licence can participate in the auction.
Taking note of the situation, the Lasalgaon APMC has issued notices to 180 members of the LTA, warning them that their licences would be cancelled if they do not restore the APMC process soon.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/onion-farmers-in-tears-as-traders-boycott-auction/article6619908.ece
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