Nashik, Jul 16 (PTI) Maharashtra's onion growers have welcomed the state government's plan for a world-class agricultural market near Vadhvan port in Palghar, but urged authorities to simultaneously develop Nashik as a "National Onion Export Hub" to help India emerge as the world's leading onion trading nation.

The Maharashtra State Onion Growers' Association said that the proposed international agricultural market would boost agricultural exports, food processing, employment and the rural economy, but stressed that its benefits must directly reach farmers.

Nashik, known as the country's "onion capital", accounts for a significant share of India's onion production, trade and exports, and should therefore be developed as a dedicated export hub linked to the Vadhvan port, the association's founder-president, Bharat Dighole, said.

Earlier this week, the state government announced that an international-standard agricultural market will be set up in Palghar district, about 40 km from the upcoming Vadhvan port, to strengthen farm exports and link cultivators directly to global markets.

Dighole said that onion farmers continue to suffer due to volatile prices, export restrictions, inadequate storage facilities, high transportation costs and the absence of direct access to global buyers, often forcing them to sell produce below production cost.

The association urged the government to establish a dedicated onion export terminal with grading, sorting, packing, quality testing and customs clearance facilities, besides creating a direct agricultural logistics corridor between Nashik and Vadhvan port through rail, container and cold-chain infrastructure.

It also sought a stable five-year national onion export policy, incentives for value-added onion-processing industries, direct participation of farmer producer organisations (FPOs) in exports, the establishment of an onion export promotion cell, and upgradation of the proposed National Onion Bhavan in Nashik into a national training, research and export guidance centre.

"The government's decision is historic, and we wholeheartedly welcome it. However, the project should not remain merely a trading complex. It must become the centre of economic transformation for lakhs of farmers. If Nashik is developed as a National Onion Export Hub and directly connected to the Vadhvan port, India can emerge as a global leader in onion trade," Dighole said.

The association appealed to the chief minister, deputy chief ministers and the agriculture and marketing departments to ensure the participation of onion growers' organisations, agricultural universities, exporters, experts and FPOs while preparing the project's blueprint. PTI MR ARU