Move to ban onion exports draws flak

Mumbai: The Centre’s move to stop onion exports has led to big resentment in Maharashtra, which is one of the biggest onion producers in the country.

On Tuesday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar met Union minister of railways, commerce and industry Piyush Goyal and discussed the situation arising out of the ban. “The Centre has abruptly announced the ban on export of onions. This has led to major resentment in the onion producing belt and several political parties approached me last night to intervene and speak to the Centre on the issue,” said Pawar.

Pawar pointed out that the majority of the farmers practise dry land farming, meaning they can cultivate the crop only once during the monsoon. “These farmers have very small land holdings and the ban has impacted them the most.”


The NCP chief said that Union minister Goyal promised that the government will reconsider the ban after consulting the ministries of commerce, finance and consumer protection.

The state witnessed several protests by farmers over the ban. At Lasalgaon in Nashik, the biggest onion mandi in the country, auction was stopped and traders discussed their next course of auction. At Satana, farmers blocked the Mumbai-Agra Highway. They said that the six-month lockdown has already taken a toll on their finances as they were unable to sell their produce.