Indian farmers using carbide to squeeze lemon profits
However, several farmers gathered at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard, Bhavnagar, to learn from authorities why the lemons trade was being closed on Sunday. The authorities apparently failed to give a satisfactory reply. Irritated farmers locked the gates in order to register their protest.
Tension started brewing since the early hours of Saturday. As trading began, the lemon price that was Rs 100 per kg on June 18 fell to Rs 35 per kg. Farmers alleged that traders and office-bearers were resorting to unfair means by closing down the market yard.
But the office-bearers said that the prices were directly related to the flow of crops into the market yard and the quality of the crops. Officials said that if the flow was high, prices would fall; and if the flow dropped, the prices would increase.
An office-bearer said that with the prices touching Rs 100 per kg earlier this week, farmers plucked raw lemons and ripened them using carbide. This increased the flow into the market leading to an immediate fall in the prices. The prices are expected to fall as the monsoon season sets in.
The chairman of the APMC, Bhavnagar, Bhikhabhai Jajadiya, said: "Earlier this week the flow of lemons was only five truckloads, but on Saturday it increased to nearly 35 trucks which resulted in the fall of prices." He said that the committee was also getting complaints that farmers were using carbide as they were getting good prices. "We decided not to hold trading on Sunday to control unfair practices," he said.
Source: indiatime.com
