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Maharashtra Government convenes meet on onion prices

Mumbai/Nasik: The State Government has called a meeting of agriculture officials on October 25 to discuss the rising price of onions and their unavailability in the market.

Marketing Minister Harshvardhan Patil convened the meeting after Shiv Sena MLC Kanhaiyalal Gidwani urged Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to ``compel the Centre to impose a temporary ban on export of onions till the situation in price and availability front improved.''

But official sources discounted Mr. Gidwani's fears, saying ``as of now, there is no shortage of onions and the prices of onions have also not gone up.''

``If the need arises, the Government can, like in the past, consider allowing direct selling of onion by the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) to consumer federations'', said an official.

Meanwhile, onions were quoted between Rs. 701 and Rs. 1,685 a quintal in auction at the Lasalgaon APMC in Nasik.

At the Pimpalgaon-Basawant APMC in Nasik, the prices were hovering between Rs. 907 and Rs. 1,600 a quintal and in Devla, prices had shot up to Rs. 2,000 two days ago.

The `Unhal' (old) onions were sold for anything between Rs. 300 and Rs. 1,591 on Friday, APMC sources added.

Mr. Gidwani claimed that the arrival of onion in the State had declined by 70 per cent and due to the ``artificial scarcity'' created by vested interests in the market, there was a possibility that the prices could go up to Rs. 25 to Rs. 30 a kg. — PTI

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