'I feel insulted': Maharashtra farmer gets Rs 2.49 as profit after selling 512 kg onions

HIGHLIGHTS

• Maharashtra farmer earns Rs 2 as profit after selling onions
• Chavan insisted that the onion farmers must receive a fair price
• The trader said that onions were of inferior quality

In a shocking incident, a farmer from Maharashtra's Solapur received an amount of Rs 2.49 as profit after selling 512 kg of onions, news agency PTI reported. The 63-year-old farmer Rajendra Chavan who stays in Barshi tehsil of Solapur, revealed that he had travelled 70 km to sell those onions and it merely yielded him Rs 1 per kg after relevant deductions as net profit.

"I had sent 10 bags of onions weighing more than five quintals to an onion trader in Solapur for sale. But after deducting charges towards loading, transport, labour and others, I received a net profit of just Rs 2.49 from him," PTI quoted Chavan as saying.

Chavan earned Rs 512, from which the APMC trader deducted 509.50 in transportation, head-loading, and weighing costs. He felt insulted after receiving the deducted amount. "After deductions worth Rs 509.51 against labour, weighing, transportation and other charges, I received a net profit of Rs 2.49. This is an insult to me and other onion-growers in the state. If we get such returns, how will we survive?" he asked.

Chavan further said that the onion farmers must receive a fair price for their harvest, and the impacted farmers must receive compensation.

When Chavan claimed that the produce was of high quality, the trader said that it was of inferior quality.

"The farmer had brought only 10 bags and the produce was also of low grade. That is why he got Rs 100 per quintal rate. So after all the deductions, he got Rs 2 as net profit," the trader said.

The trader revealed that Chavan had earlier made good profits by selling over 400 bags to him.

"This time he brought the remaining produce that was hardly 10 bags and since the prices have gone down, he got this rate," he said.

Meanwhile, farmers leader and former MP Raju Shetti told PTI that the onions coming right now are a 'kharif' produce and therefore it is impossible to store it for a longer period and that eventually makes its shelf life short.

"This onion needs to be sold in the market immediately and exported out. But due to glut, the prices of onions have nosedived in the market," he said.

"The government's export and import policy regarding onions is not consistent. We had two permanent markets - Pakistan and Bangladesh, but they preferred buying onions from Iran instead of us due to the inconsistent policy of the government. The third market is Sri Lanka, but everyone knows their situation and no one is taking risks to send their produce," he added.

According to the data, the volume of onions arriving in Lasalgaon has more than doubled from 15,000 quintals per day in December to 30,000 quintals presently. The average wholesale price fell from Rs1,850 per quintal on December 26 to Rs 550 on February 23 this year.

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