Maharashtra onion farmers irked by Centre’s discrimination in export duty

MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s onion farmers are angry with the central government for lifting the export duty on Karnataka’s onions but failing to do the same for those grown in Maharashtra. Onion farmers have accused the Centre of discrimination and also criticised the state government for not being insensitive to the problems of farmers and not pursuing the matter with the central government.

Maharashtra’s onion farmers have been facing huge losses for the last few months after the central government imposed an export ban ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to control the prices of onions in the domestic market. Farmers and opposition parties in Maharashtra raised their voice when it lifted the ban on export of onions in Gujarat in April but ignored Maharashtra. Subsequently, before the Lok Sabha polls in the onion belt of Maharashtra, the Centre lifted the onion export ban on May 4, subject to a minimum export price (MEP) of USD 550 per tonne and also imposed 40 per cent export duty.

While farmers from Maharashtra, which is the leading state in onion production, demanded a lifting of the export duty and condition of MEP, the central government on May 29 lifted export duty on onions produced in neighbouring Karnataka, whose small onions are known as the ‘Bengaluru rose’. However, it did not give any relief to onion farmers in Maharashtra.

Bharat Dighole, president of the onion farmers association, slammed the central government’s decision and accused the ruling party of discrimination against Maharashtra. “The central government revoked the export duty on ‘Bengaluru rose’ onions, which is a welcome step,” he said. “But it did not give the same relief to Maharashtra. In the past too, we have experienced discrimination when the central government allowed the export of 2,000 tonnes of white onions from Gujarat but continued the export ban on onions from Maharashtra and other states. Due to the export duty and MEP, we are losing the opportunity to export our onions and earn more money. We are facing losses of between ₹800 and Rs1,000 per quintal. The state government too is not pursuing the matter with the central government.”

Narendra Wadhavane, secretary of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) of Lasalgaon, the biggest onion market in the country and Asia, said that due to the export ban on onions earlier and due to the export duty now, onion farmers were losing the opportunity to export and earn some money. “We have also lost the market to Pakistan and China,” he said. “Due to the onion export ban earlier and now due to this export duty, farmers from Maharashtra lost the opportunity to earn a good profit by exporting onions to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Gulf countries. Due to these restrictions and export duty, Pakistan entered the market and sold its onions. If Bangladesh is getting Pakistani onions at cheaper prices than Indian onions, why will they purchase our onions?”

When contacted, the Chief Minister’s Office refused to comment.