Angry over the drop in onion prices, farmers on Thursday briefly stopped auctions at the Lasalgaon APMC, the country's largest wholesale market of the key kitchen staple in Maharashtra's Nashik district.

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The farmers demanded removal of the 20 per cent export duty on onions and an aid of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 per quintal of the produce, the APMC officials said.

Onion prices have been witnessing a decline since the last few days.

However, as the prices dropped drastically at the Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), onion farmers stopped the auctions and registered their protest on Thursday, the officials said.

Around 1,500 vehicles of onions arrived for auction at the APMC on Thursday.

In the morning session, the minimum price was Rs 800 per quintal, maximum Rs 2,900 per quintal and an average Rs 1,900 per quintal, as per the officials.

As the auctions began, the auctioneers announced the prices at Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 per quintal.

Angry over it, farmers stopped the auctions. Later, the prices improved slightly.

The agitation was called off after about half-an-hour and the auctions restarted, the officials said.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday urged the BJP-led Centre to remove the 20 per cent levy on onion exports and provide relief to the growers.

In a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Pawar highlighted the issues concerning farmers from Nashik.

“The onions grown here (in Nashik) are available in other states of India and also exported in large quantities. As of today, onions from the summer yield have been exhausted and the fresh crop has reached various market committees in Maharashtra,” Pawar wrote.

Due to the arrival of a large stock of onions, farmers are now in distress as they are forced to sell their produce at a much lower rate since they have yet to receive any minimum support price, said Pawar. They are selling onions at an average of Rs 2,400 per quintal, he said.

Unseasonal rains and changing climate have already caused a huge dent in the earnings of onion farmers, wrote the NCP leader, who is currently in Nagpur for the winter session of the state legislature.

If they are further made to receive a rate less than the production cost, the onion farmers will incur a huge loss, said the deputy CM.

The Centre has levied a 20 per cent duty on the export of onions due to which the kitchen staple from the state loses its competitiveness in international markets, according to farmers.

On Wednesday, 1,950 vehicles of onions arrived at the Lasalgaon APMC. The prices were Rs 800 per quintal minimum, Rs 2,801 per quintal maximum and Rs 1,950 per quintal average.

Prior to that, on Tuesday, 1,689 vehicles of onions arrived for auction at the APMC, with the prices being Rs 1,000 per quintal minimum, Rs 3,252 per quintal maximum and Rs 2,200 per quintal average, as per officials.