Karnataka: Gadag farmers in panic over sudden fall of onion prices
GADAG: A sudden fall in onion prices, from Rs 80 to Rs 8 per kg, in Gadag district of Karnataka caused panic among farmers, on Friday. The farmers have blamed the agents of the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard for the sudden dip in the price.
About five tonnes of onions brought here from Nasik on Thursday evening led to the sudden slash in the prices.
Till Wednesday the prices of onions in Gadag was Rs 4,500 per quintal and on Friday the prices reduced to Rs 800 per quintal. This means a kilogram of onion which was sold between Rs 60-80 a day ago, fell to just Rs 8 per kg while the price of onions continues to hover above Rs 50 in major cities across the city.
This caused unrest among local farmers who took APMC officials to the task.
The officials tried to pacify the farmers by announcing minimum support price of Rs 2,500 per quintal, which was rejected by the farmers.
Farmers are now demanding minimum support price of Rs. 4000 per quintal. They are also accusing that the middlemen of profiting from the sudden inflation and creating artificial scarcity of onions.