Nashik, March 4 -- A labour shortage triggered by the Holi festival has disrupted onion auctions across key market committees in Maharashtra's Nashik district, including Asia's largest wholesale onion market at Lasalgaon, traders said.
With many labourers returning to their native villages for the festival, auctions have remained stalled for past three days in several markets. The halt has left farmers struggling to sell their produce during a peak arrival period, impacting the rural economy.
On average, 1.5 lakh quintals of onions arrive in the district every day. As there have been no auctions in the last three days at the prevailing market prices, trade worth more than Rs 50 crore has been affected, market sources said.
Farmers are al...