Between September and December, when retail onion prices soared from around Rs 30 to Rs 100-plus per kg (they have since fallen to Rs 50 or so), Paswan has similarly urged state governments through Twitter to “act” against alleged hoarders of the bulb.
On January 7, Union Consumer Affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan took to Twitter, to issue a stern warning to “hoarders”, whom he blamed for “creating artificial scarcity for speculation” and causing the recent price increase in edible oils.
The tweet had very little impact. Wholesale soyabean prices have, if anything, risen a tad to Rs 4,250 per quintal in Maharashtra’s Latur wholesale market — well above the Centre’s minimum support price of Rs 3,710.
Ashok Bhutada of Kirti Group, a Latur-based edible oil miller, has a clear explanation why prices aren’t easing: “The so-called hoarding is happening at the farmers’ end. They are the ones holding on to their crop, which is also reflected in low market arrivals. And unlike for traders, there’s no law that forces the farmer to sell”.
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