Onion farmers earn more by selling directly

Nashik: Reeling under the nine-day-old indefinite strike of traders at the APMC markets, onion farmers have started to sell their produce directly to the consumers.

Satana-based farmer Rajesh Ghuge brought 30 quintals of onions to Nashik and sold it near Untawadi at Rs 12 per kg throughout the day.

There are several such farmers, who have turned to consumers directly, selling their produce at moderate rates of Rs 12 per kg. In the retail market, onions are sold in the range of Rs 15 to Rs 20 per kg. While the farmers are getting better prices for their produce, compared to the prices in APMCs, the consumers also get onions at reasonable rates.

Onion traders are on an indefinite strike from July 9 in protest against the government's decision to delist agricultural produce from APMC Act and also levy commission on traders, instead of farmers. This has farmers in a tight spot as they need the money from their produce for kharif sowing. So, they have started selling onions directly to consumers in Nashik, Thane, Mumbai and Palghar.

Rahul Ghuge, an onion farmer from Satana, said, "I have 200 quintals of summer onions in storage. I needed money for kharif sowing and also for buying fertilisers. Finally, I took 30 quintals in a vehicle and came to Nashik city. I packed onions in bags of 10 kg and sold it at Rs 120 per bag. I didn't have to pay any commission to anyone and the transport cost was Rs 1 per kg. I got a better price than the prices I get in the APMCs."

Ghuge added, "I earned Rs 33,000 after reducing the transportation cost of Rs 3,000. Considering the current wholesale prices, I would have earned only Rs 18,000 for 30 quintals of onion at the APMC market."

Ravi Kapadnis, another onion farmer, said: "Earlier, I was worried since I had 450 quintals of onions in storage yards. Finally, I decided to sell onions directly to consumers. In the past four days, I sold 150 quintals of onions at Rs 12 to Rs 13 a kg. I took onions in vehicles through colonies in cities and sold it directly to consumers. Now I realised, how selling directly to consumers is profitable."

Source : TOI