No onion auction at Lasalgaon APMC for seven days till April 1

Nashik: Onion auctions will remain suspended at the Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), India's largest wholesale onion market, for seven consecutive days from March 26 to April 1 due to a combination of holidays and financial year-end administrative procedures during the period.In an official statement, the APMC has urged farmers not to bring their produce to the market, as trading activity and support services would remain suspended during the period. Normal operations, including onion auctions, would resume on April 2.The shutdown schedule includes a holiday on Thursday for Ram Navami. On Friday, the market will remain closed as traders will be travelling outside the region for work. Saturday has been declared a holiday since banks will be shut, making financial transactions impossible, followed by the regular weekly holiday on Sunday. On Monday, market activities will be suspended due to the non-availability of workers. Additionally, the APMC has declared March 31 a holiday on account of Mahavir Jayanti. Banks will also remain closed on that day due to the annual financial year-end closure, prompting the market committee to extend the shutdown. As a result, there will be no auction activity at Lasalgaon APMC for a full week.On Wednesday, the average wholesale price of late kharif onions at Lasalgaon APMC was recorded at Rs 900 per quintal. Prices ranged from a minimum of Rs 300 to a maximum of Rs 1,080 per quintal, with total arrivals of 14,190 quintals auctioned during the day. In contrast, summer onions fetched a higher average price of Rs 1,225 per quintal, with minimum and maximum rates of Rs 601 and Rs 1,401 per quintal, respectively. About 9,082 quintals of summer onions were auctioned during the day.Arrivals of late kharif onions are expected to continue till the first week of April. Meanwhile, the inflow of summer onions has been gradually increasing and is likely to rise significantly over the next 15 days.Late kharif onions have a limited shelf life of less than 25 days, after which they begin to rot, forcing farmers to sell immediately at prevailing market prices. In contrast, summer onions can be stored for six to seven months, allowing farmers greater flexibility to hold stock and sell according to their financial needs in anticipation of better prices.