Over 15% onions procured by MP govt already perished

The onions procured from farmers have rotten on account of the rains and resultant humidity

Around 15 to 20% of 1,03,000 tonnes of onions procured by the Madhya Pradesh government from farmers at a support price of Rs 6 per kg is feared to have rotten on account of the rains and resultant humidity.

"According to our estimate, 15 to 20% of the onions procured from farmers, kept in godowns, have rotten due to the moisture," MP State Cooperative Marketing Federation's general manager Yogesh Joshi said.

The long distance between purchase centres and godowns, which were as much as 250 km apart at some places, also contributed to the wastage due to rotting, he said.

Meanwhile, MPSCMF has re-issued tenders, which would close on July 13, to sell off the procured onion stock.

In the first round of bidding, 15 traders offered to purchase the stock for prices ranging from 60 paise per kg to 2.60 per kg. The government wanted higher prices.

After the onion prices crashed and in some places farmers threw away the produce, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on June 1 had announced procurement at Rs 6 per kg.