Onion traders and commission agents of Nashik, Maharashtra on 30 September 2023 accepted the call to continue the ongoing strike. The strike refers to the recently introduced export duties on the export of vegetables, as well as to some other issues related to the sale of vegetables.
Of the 15 wholesale markets in Nashik, the committee and traders are on a rigorous strike since September 21. They want to continue the strike until all their demands are met. They are asking the government to abolish the customs duty. Take a look at everything related to the Nashik port strike.
Demands and reasons for the strike
Commissioners and traders of a total of 15 wholesale markets in Nashik decided on September 21 to go on strike to fight the government’s recent decision to impose an export duty of 40 per cent. One of the key demands of traders is the abolition of this customs duty.
Moreover, traders also want agencies such as the National Consumer Cooperative Federation (NCCF0 and the National Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Federation (NAFED)) not to sell onion procured from farmers at retail destinations and wholesale markets. Traders are of the opinion that while NCCF and NAFED can reduce their costs, traders cannot, so it is difficult for them to compete with these agencies in terms of price.
Traders are also demanding a reduction in market tax on services charged to traders by wholesale markets. However, traders stated that the tax collected in Nashik was actually too high.
Initially, traders held meetings with market committees. However, when they failed, traders decided to boycott auctions in 15 markets of the area. Even after ten days, nothing was done.
What does the government have to say?
Government officials said the 40 percent export duty was imposed to control port exports. This would additionally ensure significant availability of the port on the domestic market. Lower than normal quantities of basic onions are currently available. Moreover, the government also stated that the demand for NCCF and NAFED not to sell in the open market is actually unsustainable.
“We made a conscious decision to market our goods in markets where price escalation was high, in order to control the price. Also, we do not have specific retail channels to unload our procured onions,” said an official of the Ministry of Consumer Protection.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn