Onion farmers to boycott brokers

After MiD DAY's report on arm-twisting middlemen who fleece farmers, they have decided not to sell them their produce in Nashik

Following MiD DAY's report on middlemen eating away at onion farmers' profits, thousands of growers in the state have taken a stand against them.

They have resolved not to sell their produce to brokers, who have been milking the benefits from the skewed onion trading, leaving them struggling to make ends meet.


With farmers refusing to sell onions at the APMC market in Nashik, expect onion prices to rise in the city following a shortfall in supply

MiD DAY, as part of its month-long campaign on food inflation, had reported ('Peeling layers off the onion trade', February 9) how farmers have become prisoners of the vegetable mafia over the past few years.

While middlemen make money in this buyer's market, the onion growers have been reduced to living hand to mouth.
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A farmer in Nashik barely makes Rs 300 after selling 10 quintal (or 100 kg) of onions at Pimpalgaon, one of Asia's largest onion-trading towns.

APMC official Raju More in Nashik confirmed that onion growers will not sell their produce from today, unless they get a fair price.

Buyer beware

Following the fallout between the producers and the brokers, expect onion prices to spiral to higher levels, experts say.
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As there would be no sale of onions, they will not reach the wholesale and retail markets in the city, traders cautioned.

While the vegetable mafia is paying measly amounts for the produce, the farmers are facing stiff competition from their counterparts in Bhavnagar and Mahuwa, districts in nearby Gujarat.

For now, this has resulted in lowering the onion prices at the APMC and other trading centres.

Pimpalgaon APMC Secretary Sanjay Patil told MiD DAY that they have requested the government to allow onion exports.
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This could stabilise the falling prices of onion in and around Nashik, providing farmers some relief.
Onion is still being sold around Rs 25 per kilogram after it almost touched three figures per kilogram last month.

Rs 25
Price of Onions (per kg) in the market

So far in the mid day campaign..

Peeling layers off the onion trade

As the hue and cry over an unprecedented hike in onion prices hitting R100/kg ebbs, MiD DAY exposes the invisible hand of the cartel behind the rise.

Economics of the vada pav
Prices of pulses and vatana, ingredients that go into making your favourite vada pav, go through a 150 per cent hike from the farmer's hand till it reaches the retailer.

Who's adding to your food bills?
Food inflation hit 17% last month. The common man has almost resigned to the fact of steady price rise. But farmers are none the richer. MiD DAY aims to fill the gaps from the farmer's hand till your plate.

Blackmail on the fields
Vegetable mafia manage to arm-twist the farmer into selling stock at a ridiculously lowu00a0 price in the traders' market, as the farmer does not have the money to cart his goods directly to Mumbai.

In a month-long extensive campaign, MiD DAY will trace the tangle of farmer-middleman-hoarder-politician nexus that is ultimately leaving a sour taste in your mouth.