MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has written to Union Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal, urging him to increase the onion stock holding limit for wholesale traders in the state from the exiting 25 metric tonnes to 1,500 metric tonnes.
The onion traders had gone on a strike last week against the restrictions imposed by the Centre on stock limits of 25 metric tonnes for wholesalers. “The recent notification of stock limit for onion traders 25 metric tonnes for wholesale traders, while two tonnes for retail traders has caused hardship to farmers and traders. Therefore, it should be lifted immediately,” Thackeray wrote.
“This has stalled the supply chain from farmers to consumers, which has resulted in an increase in prices of onion in the retail market,” he added. The Chief Minister said the arrival of kharif onion is likely to begin from the first week of November. Kharif onion is highly perishable. If this onion is not purchased by traders due to the present cap on stock holding, farmers in Maharashtra will face huge losses.
The Shiv Sena chief also urged the Centre to increase the grading, sorting and packing days from the present three days to seven days. “The traders are reluctant to buy the onion directly from the farmers because of this stock limit. This has also disturbed the cycle and will impact the onion prices. The onion prices in retail have been also increased,” Thackeray said.