Maharashtra seeks 4% RoDTEP support for onion exports

State government has rejected allegations made by farmers’ organisations and opposition leaders regarding irregularities in onion procurement by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF)
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SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Even as onion exporters have demanded that the Union government raise the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) rate from the existing 1.9 per cent to 5 per cent, the Maharashtra government has officially sought a revision of the rate to 4 per cent to support farmers facing losses due to falling onion prices.

Maharashtra’s Marketing Minister Jaykumar Rawal told members of the State Legislative Council that the State government, at the Chief Minister’s level, has requested the Centre to revise the RoDTEP rate to 4 per cent. The proposal, he said, has been submitted to the Union government and is currently pending.

Rawal said the request was made with the objective of providing relief to onion farmers who are suffering losses due to price fluctuations and weak market realisations. The State government, he added, has been consistently pursuing the matter with the Centre as part of its efforts to support the onion-growing community.

The issue has also drawn strong reactions from elected representatives in the State Legislature, who have demanded concrete measures to address the ongoing distress among onion producers. Farmer groups have reiterated their demand that the Union government fix a minimum selling price for onions to protect growers from sharp price declines.

Procurement allegations

Meanwhile, the State government has rejected allegations made by farmers’ organisations and opposition leaders regarding irregularities in onion procurement by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF). Responding to these claims, Rawal said vigilance committees appointed by the State government on July 18 last year to monitor the procurement process have been functioning regularly.

According to the minister, these vigilance committees have been submitting weekly reports to the district collectors, who in turn forward the reports to the State government. He said the committees have inspected and monitored 48 onion procurement centres in Nashik district. Based on the findings of these inspections, further action has been initiated wherever required.

The State government maintains that the monitoring mechanism is in place to ensure transparency in onion procurement and to address complaints related to the process, even as it continues to seek enhanced export incentives to stabilise farmer incomes.

Published on January 6, 2026