Nashik: Centre Begins Onion Procurement At ₹1,235 Per Quintal, Farmers Call It Temporary Relief
· Free Press Journal
Nashik: The Centre has started onion procurement in Maharashtra at the rate of ₹1,235 per quintal from May 15, offering temporary relief to farmers struggling with a sharp fall in market prices. However, farmer organisations across the state have strongly criticised the procurement rate, calling it inadequate and unfair.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the decision was taken after continuous follow-up with the Central Government and a special request made to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Speaking in Satara, the Chief Minister said the procurement drive would help onion growers who have been facing severe financial losses due to crashing prices.
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Over the past few weeks, onion prices have fallen sharply, leaving many farmers unable to recover even their basic production costs. In several places, farmers were reportedly forced to dump onions as market rates dropped drastically.
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Farmer representatives said the costs of seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, labour, transportation and storage have increased significantly over the last few years. They argued that the current procurement rate is too low to provide meaningful relief.
Farmer leader Shekhar Kadam said onion cultivation requires heavy investment, and farmers are spending lakhs of rupees on farming activities. He demanded that the government announce a minimum procurement price of ₹3,000 per quintal and compensate farmers who were forced to sell onions at very low prices earlier.
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Meanwhile, Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil admitted that the fall in onion prices was a serious issue affecting farmers across the state. He said that although there is currently no export ban, geopolitical conditions in Gulf countries have affected agricultural exports and impacted onion markets.
Farmer organisations also questioned why the procurement rate announced in 2025 is far lower than the rate offered during the 2023 onion crisis. In 2023, procurement had been announced at ₹2,410 per quintal after prices had crashed. Farmer leaders asked why the current rate was fixed at only ₹1,235 despite rising inflation and increased production costs.