M'rashtra to create farm export opportunities

To give more export opportunities to farmers, Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board (MSAMB) has decided to set up 10 export facility centres (EFCs) in the state, including two in the Nashik district.

"At present, there are 10 EFCs in Maharashtra. MSAMB will shortly set up 10 more EFCs across the state. These EFCs will be located in Nashik (for onions), Pune (for flowers), Aurangabad, Kolhapur (jaggery), Satara, Amravati (orange) and Latur. Setting up each EFC is estimated to cost around Rs 4 crore," Sheshrao Sangale, director, MSAMB, said.

Out of 10, two EFCs will be set up in Nashik district to facilitate export of onions. One EFC will be set up between Kalwan and Deola, while the location is yet to be identified for another EFC in the district.

"We have seen major fluctuation in onion prices. The storage capacity of onions is around 80,000 tonnes, which is less compared to onion production. With an aim to monitor such situations, we are making efforts to increase the onion storage capacity in the next two years," Sangale said.

Nashik district is the major onion market in the country. The district produces about 12 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of onions per year (including all three crops - Kharip, Rangada and Rabi).

The share of Maharashtra in the production of onion is around 30 per cent of the country's total production. In Maharashtra, Nashik district contributes 35-40 per cent of the state's production.