Mumbai, July 9 (IANS) Maharashtra Marketing Minister Jaykumar Rawal said on Thursday that the state government has implemented various measures to provide relief to onion growers during periods of price drops, with a strong focus on increasing processing industries, expanding storage capacity, and encouraging crop diversification.

He was replying to a discussion initiated by member Vikram Kale regarding the falling onion prices in the state.

Key members, including Pravin Darekar, Satej Patil, and Neelam Gorhe, among others, participated in the debate.

Minister Rawal noted that international market conditions had previously hit onion exports, leading to a crash in domestic prices.

In response, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took the initiative to hold a high-level meeting with the Central government.

“Following this meeting, key decisions were made to increase onion procurement targets, implement export incentive measures, and hike procurement prices,” the Chief Minister added.

Maharashtra leads the country in onion production, contributing a major share to India’s total output.

Given the consistently rising production, Minister Rawal said that the state government is actively planning to promote onion processing industries, dehydration plants, and onion powder manufacturing units.

“To prevent post-harvest losses, a large number of onion storage structures have already been set up across the state. Moving forward, the state government aims to establish regional onion processing centres through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) at both the taluka and district levels,” the Minister added.

He concluded by noting that during past price crashes, the state government directly credited subsidies into farmers’ bank accounts across multiple phases.

He assured that current market rates for onions are satisfactory, and the state government remains committed to continuous measures ensuring stable returns for farmers.

Meanwhile, State Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil told the Legislative Council during Question Hour that sugar mills across Maharashtra have cleared 99.26 per cent of the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) owed to sugarcane farmers.

The remaining outstanding balance of Rs 298 crore will be recovered from defaulting factories along with interest.

The issue was raised by member Sadabhau Khot, with follow-up questions raised by members Prajakt Tanpure, Pravin Darekar, Gokul Gite, and Shrikant Bhartiya.

Detailing the status of the state’s sugar mills, Minister Patil said that 162 mills out of 210 have cleared 100 per cent of their FRP dues, 43 mills have paid between 80 to 99 per cent of their dues, two mills have paid between 60 to 80 per cent and three mills have paid less than 60 per cent of their mandatory FRP.

The Minister confirmed that the pending Rs 298 crore belongs to the 2022-23 crushing season, and strict legal action has been initiated against the non-compliant factories.

Revenue Recovery Certificate (RRC) proceedings have been launched against the defaulters to recover the outstanding amounts with interest.

Minister Patil also highlighted that the challenges plaguing the sugar industry were recently discussed in a high-level meeting involving the Chief Minister Fadnavis and Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah.

During this meeting, the state government urged the Centre to link the sugarcane FRP directly with the Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar.

Additionally, demands were raised to increase ethanol prices and bridge the price gap for grain-based ethanol, the Minister said.

He emphasised that despite the financial crunch in the sugar industry, farmers’ FRP remains the state government’s top priority.

Out of a total state FRP payout of nearly Rs 40,000 crore, only Rs 298 crore is currently pending, and the state government is fully committed to ensuring that farmers receive this balance at the earliest.

–IANS

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