APMC not to charge cess on onion carrying vehicles: Minister

Mumbai, Oct 5 (UNI) Maharashtra Minister for Marketing Harshvardhan Patil today informed that the Mumbai Agriculture Produce Market Committee will not charge cess on vehicles bringing onions to the metropolis directly from the farmers.

Mr Patil was speaking at a meeting held under his chairmanship here today to review the situation on onions. Principal secretary (marketing) Sudhir Kumar Goyal, principal secretary (food and civil supplies) K P Bakshi, and other officials were present at the meeting.

The Minister clarified that NAFED has not put a ban on onion exports. He claimed that wrong information had induced farmers to take back their produce leading to a shortage of onions in the metropolis which, in turn, led to an increase in their prices.

The Minister said 76 vehicles, carrying onions, had arrived in Mumbai today. While onions were available at Rs 15 to Rs 17 per kg in the local markets of onion producing districts, in Mumbai, their prices have risen to Rs 25 to Rs 27.

UNI