TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
BELGAUM: Goans can heave a sigh of relief as prices of onions reached a new low on Sunday, due to the arrival of over 75 truckloads of onions from Maharashtra.
The prices of other vegetables are also on the decline, as all vegetables are available at cheaper rates as compared to the last few weeks.
The prices of superior quality of onions have come down to Rs 1,300 per quintal, which is the lowest in the last couple of months.
As per the information from traders at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), which is based at the Market Yard, a large number of truckloads arrived Belgaum APMC Market late Saturday evening.
All these onions had arrived from Nasik, Lasalgaon and other onion growing areas of Maharashtra. Depending on its size, the onions were auctioned from as low as Rs 500 per quintal to a maximum of Rs 1300 per quintal, which is the lowest since the last couple of months.
According to traders, the best quality of onions could be available in Goa at rates ranging between Rs 15-Rs 20 a kilo.
Incidentally, the onion prices could have crashed further if farmers from onion growing areas in Karnataka – from where a meagre four truck loads had arrived – not called for a gate-bundh agitation due to falling prices.
While farmers from Maharashtra were happy with a price of upto Rs 1,300, a few farmers from Karnataka staged an agitation to stall the auction for a while. However, the auction continued due to timely intervention of authorities and police.
According to sources, farmers who are aware of the rising demand of onions from Goa have been demanding a better price from Belgaum.
