APMC market remains closed due to traders’ stir

Nashik: The Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) onion market remained closed on Tuesday due to a strike by traders in protest of robberies against them in the last two months. On Monday, two robbers threw chilly powder and looted Rs 9 lakh from a trader, who had taken out cash from a bank to pay farmers.  

As farmers demand cash and the APMCs too insist on cash payment to farmers, the traders keep a large volume of cash with them. On Monday morning trader Rahul Sanap had removed Rs 9 lakh to pay off farmers, from a bank on Vinchur-Lasalgaon Road. He brought the cash to his vehicle. As he got down, two robbers, waiting on a motorbike tried to open the car door. As Sanap tried to fend off the attack, another robber threwchilly powder on him and decamped with the cash. As this is third such incident in last two months, angry traders announced that they would not participate in the auctions.

Lasalgaon APMC Chairman Jaydatt Holkar said that, the onion APMC wasclosed due to the trader’s non-participation. The markets will resume on Wednesday, he said.

On Monday, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) started its market intervention purchase to checkonion prices. However even NAFED’s intervention failed to increaseenthusiasm in the dull market as the price offered for onion was Rs 7.70 per kg.

The rates offered for unhal variety onion was minimum Rs 4per kg, maximum Rs 8.10 per kg and average of Rs 6.75 per kg.

Presently, the onion markets in the district are overflowing with abumper onion crop.