Coming from a severe shortage, onion arrivals are now on the rise and Indian farmers have begun to harvest the winter (kharif) crop. Unlike the summer (rabi) onion, the kharif onion cannot be stored and therefore farmers will be forced to dispose of their crop soon. Stock limits or hoarding in such a situation no longer remains relevant.
Onion growers and traders in India’s Nashik district —the onion belt in Maharashtra— will soon approach the federal government with a plea to remove the stock limits in the wake of increasing arrivals in the markets.
NAFED director Nanasaheb Patil said a meeting is slated to be held with Nashik’s district collector along with local MP Bharti Pawar when she arrives in the city to discuss measures on the current situation.
Acccording to financialexpress.com, the current stockholding limit is 25 tons for traders and in this case, if arrivals increase in the market, traders will not be able to make purchases due to stockholding limits, he said. The main demand at the meeting is to urge the government to remove the stockholding limit since it no longer serves purpose, he said. “We plan to collect data on the supply-demand situation, arrivals and prices, and put forth a tentative programme on measures, before the government, to be taken to tackle the situation on hand to avoid losses to farmers.”
