Maharashtra onion growers are protesting at Lasalgaon -the country’s biggest onion market- for the removal of curbs on exports as prices continue to fall following the arrival of the fresh crop.

“Wholesale prices of onions have fallen from a peak of Rs 3,900 per 100 kgs to Rs 800-900 per 100 kgs today,” says Suvarna Jagtap, chairman of the Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC). Farmers are upset as many of them have suffered huge losses due to unseasonal rains last year are expecting to compensate from the onion crop.”

The central government banned the export of onions last year as prices began to surge. onion farmers, who have been holding protests at Lasalgaon for the past several days, say the government should allow exports to resume before prices fall to last year’s low of one rupee a kilogram in the wholesale market.

The central government had even imported onions from global suppliers like Egypt to help moderate prices. Meanwhile, the fall in wholesale prices is yet to make onions cheaper for the retail consumer.