Journalism of Courage
A sudden spell of rains in Pune region,including the city suburbs,has sent the prices of onion crashing from Rs 11 a kg to Rs 4-8 a kg in a day. The rains had led farmers to rush to markets with the maximum possible stock,and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Market Yard at Gultekdi saw a supply of 35,000 quintals on Thursday.
Earlier,the supplies to markets had come down momentarily after the lifting of the export ban on February 17 and the agitations over falling prices were reduced to a few sporadic incidents. However,with the sudden rain,most farmers have rushed back to the markets.
Ankush Konde,vegetable section in-charge,Agricultural Produce Market Committee,said,Even on Tuesday,some farmers had tried to close the gates of the market. But gradually,they are losing support as the ground reality remains the same even after the agitation. Rather,it has led to the further spiralling down of prices. At the price of $600 (set by the government),as predicted earlier,there are no buyers in the international markets. Exports were banned on December 22 following the largescale damage to crops owing to untimely rains in November that led to a skyrocketing of prices.
Lifting the export ban turned out to be just a cosmetic change as the prices set for international buyers were unrealistic,leading to Indian onions finding no buyers. We have already recieved a heavy blow on our crediblity in the international markets with the sudden ban on exports. From the earlier price of $400 till December to $600 now,no buyer will come forward and hence traders will not able to export, said Rajshekhra Patil,a trader at the Market Yard.
