State mulls to reverse e-auction of onions

Kolkata: State-run MSTC Limited is planning to commence reverse e-auction of onion on behalf of Mother Dairy in the next 5-6 days to provide better price realisation to farmers. The move is to support the onion farmers of Nasik who are suffering due to price crash after bumper produce.

"Mother Dairy has agreed to sell onions through their 150 odd outlets in NCR. They will procure 20 tonne onion on a daily basis," MSTC Chairman B.B Singh said on Wednesday on the sidelines of CII organised MSME Conclave 2019.

Around 28 Farmer Producers' Company (FPCs) will be participating at the e-auction, hosted by MSTC on behalf of Mother Dairy.

The company is trying to engage more buyers like Spencer's, Reliance Fresh and other organised retailers. "The floor price will not be less than Rs 6-8 per kg, which we hope will help better price realisation in the period of crisis," he said. According to Singh, onions are being sold at retail markets within a range of Rs 20-27 per kg, while farmers are struggling to secure even Rs 2-4 per kg. The input cost for cultivation of one kg of onion has been fixed at Rs 8.50 by the Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research (DOGR), a constituent body of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. "There will be a reserve price under which bidding would not be allowed and this reserve price would be set by the farmers," Singh said. The terms and conditions are getting finalised. MSTC is also looking forward to expanding and franchise with MSMEs and entrepreneurs in secondary steel sector as demand is expected to rise.