Onions better in Mumbai; but I-T raids make Delhi weep
11 Jan 2011
As better quality onions pour in from Pune and Nashik, traders in Mumbai expect rates to stabilise by early February.
The second week of January will hopefully bring along better and cheaper onions for city dwellers. The first few truckloads of the new crop of onions from Pune finally started arriving at the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Vashi, yesterday.
The new stock reportedly has a deep colour and is better than any of the previous stocks over past weeks. It sold for Rs25 to Rs50 a kg in the wholesale markets.
The situation could have been much worse if traders in Nashik, the major producing area, had gone on a threatened two-day strike in protest against income tax (I-T) raids on them. But the decision was called off within hours.
The Nasik traders, who had earlier taken a stand not to buy the vegetable at the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) all over the district on Monday and Tuesday, later said that they will not go ahead with the strike.
The withdrawal followed mediation by the Maharashtra State Marketing Federation. At a meeting held in Nashik on Monday, director of the federation Sheshrao Sangle assured the traders that their grievances would be taken to the state and central governments.