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Agriculture | India's largest onion wholesale market to go online -Nanda Kasabe

India's largest onion wholesale market to go online -Nanda Kasabe

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published Published on Feb 8, 2018   modified Modified on Apr 30, 2018
-The Financial Express

As onion prices surge on the removal of curbs on minimum export price (MEP), Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) – the largest wholesale market for onions in Asia – is all set to be part of the World Bank-implemented Maharashtra Agricultural Competitiveness Project (MACP). The APMC will receive funds to the tune of Rs 1 crore as part of the project to bring the entire auction process online, said Jaydutt Holkar, chairman of Lasalgaon APMC. This is the first APMC in Nashik district to receive 100% funding for the project. Under e-NAM, market committees receive 50% funds for moving onto the online process. According to Holkar, the market committee has purchased some 15 tablets to traders for the e-auction and the bids will commence on a trial basis from Wednesday for the next fortnight. “After the glitches are sorted out, we shall review the process and have made arrangements for auction hall where traders can make bids on the computers as well. Large screens have been put at yards, which shall display market prices of commodities of various APMCs in the country,” he said. Holkar said that trails will be conducted for the e-auction for grain initially and onions will soon be included in the auction process.

Around 30 of Maharashtra’s APMCs are now part of the first phase of the agriculture ministry-promoted national electronic platform, National Agriculture Market (eNAM). The Centre has allotted around Rs 30 lakh per mandi, which means the state has received Rs 9 crore for the project. The progress of these mandis will be monitored after which the state shall move into the next phase in the next 3-4 months, Pawar said. Twenty-eight mandis have started providing online gate entries and commenced e-auctions. The government has tried to free up agricultural markets and let farmers sell at best prices they can discover.

The Maharashtra government has implemented the MACP scheme with financial support from the World Bank with the objective of ensuring better prices for farm produce and also ensuring that farmers get money in time, he said. After selection for the scheme, the auction and sale process right from the gate entry to the bidding process shall be conducted online. Traders from other APMCs will also be allowed to participate in the auction, he said, adding that this will result in more competition among traders, and farmers are likely to get better rates. Meanwhile, the average wholesale onion prices at Lasalgaon hot up by 46% on the first day of trading after the Centre removed the minimum export price on the bulb. Average prices on Tuesday touched Rs 2,361 per quintal and Rs 2,451 per quintal on Wednesday. Last week, modal prices had dropped to Rs 1,400-1,500 per quintal on the back of heavy arrivals and lack of exports that had caused an onion glut.

Prices had dropped by nearly Rs 10 per kg in various APMC yards in Nashik district. Holkar said that it was the culmination of appeals to chief minister Fadnavis and commerce minister Suresh Prabhu. “I had collected letters from all APMCs and met the CM and appealed him to remove the MEP as there was no point in continuing with it when onion was in excess in the country,” he said. Onion prices were expected to soar in the retail markets as supply would shrink following higher exports. Around 10,000 quintals was auctioned at Lasalgaon on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Centre had imposed an MEP of $850 a tonne on November 23 last year following the rise in wholesale prices. The average wholesale prices had hit Rs 70 per kg in retail markets of metro cities like Mumbai and Delhi. After the MEP was imposed, the prices had dropped 50% in a month from Rs 3,550 per quintal on January 5 to Rs 1,450 a quintal on February 2. While announcing the removal of MEP, commerce minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted: “We are taking all measures to promote exports of agriculture products.” The rabi crop, harvested in summer season, is India’s largest onion crop. Prices usually decline to Rs 5-7 per kg during March and April, the peak harvest time of the rabi crops.


The Financial Express, 7 February, 2018, please click here to access

The Financial Express, 7 February, 2018, http://www.financialexpress.com/market/indias-largest-onion-wholesale-market-to-go-online/1055129/


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