Kota/Junagadh Saurashtra (Rajasthan): With banned Chinese garlic making inroads into the Indian markets, the traders of Rajasthan and Gujarat staged a protest saying it will not only impact their profit but is also unsafe for consumption.
Garlic, a condiment that enhances flavour of a dish, is known as Allium sativum and grown across the country with Rajasthan's Hadoti division registering the highest cultivation. The garlic producing farmers had been getting good prices since November 2023 but with the arrival of Chinese garlic, the farmers and traders have been left suffering losses.
Avinash Rathi, president of Grain and Seeds Merchant Association of Bhamashah Krishi Upaj Mandi Kota, said that farmers had kept aside their stocks in the hope of getting good prices but if Chinese garlic continue to enter the country, then the overall garlic prices will fall, he said.
The government has banned Chinese garlic but it continues to reach the Indian markets through smuggling from Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. Rajasthan agriculture minister Kirori Lal Meena said that efforts will be made to stop Chinese garlic from coming into the country. Traders and farmers will not be allowed to suffer losses.
Joint director of agriculture marketing, Shashi Shekhar Sharma said that Chinese garlic is coming here secretly. "It is not coming to the markets of Kota and Hadoti but reaching markets outside Rajasthan," he added.
Prices dipped about Rs 500 to 3000: According to Avinash Rathi, due to the arrival of Chinese garlic, demand from the people of the south and other areas in Hadoti has reduced. People are buying Chinese garlic since it is much cheaper. Resulting which, the prices of local garlic have fallen around Rs 500 to 3000 per quintal in the markets of Hadoti including Kota. If the arrival of Chinese garlic continues, then more farmers will suffer losses, he said.
In 2022-23, about 11 lakh quintals of garlic reached the market and in 2023-24, 7.25 lakh quintals of garlic reached the markets. The average price in the market is currently Rs 22,000 per quintal, while the maximum price is Rs 28,0000 to 30,000 per quintal. At the same time, the minimum price is Rs 15,000 to 18,000 per quintal.
Chinese garlic enters Gujarat as well: Two days ago, a farmer from Upleta, Gujarat created a stir by placing Chinese garlic in the garlic auction at Gondal Marketing Yard. Since the Government of India has banned Chinese garlic, auction of Chinese garlic has been stopped immediately in most of the Krishi Upaj Mandi Samitis of India. Farmers in Saurashtra have protested against Chinese garlic while Rajco of Saurashtra, Hapa marketing yards of Gondal and Jamnagar have stopped the auction of garlic.
Farmers held back goods anticipating good prices: Kota District General Secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Roop Narayan Yadav said that in 2022, farmers did not get good prices for garlic. In such a situation, farmers had reduced production in the same year, but in 2023, the prices started increasing suddenly and at the end of 2023, garlic prices rose due to high demand. Garlic production had reduced, but due to the increase in prices, farmers got a good profit. Due to this, the prices were high from the beginning of 2024.
Following which, farmers had thought that they would get good prices from September 2024 to January 2025 and a large quantity of garlic was held back by them. Now farmers may suffer losses due to the entry of Chinese garlic.
Garlic sent to big traders and processing units from Kota: In 2021, garlic was produced in 1,15,000 hectares in Kota while in 2022, the cultivation area was reduced after farmers failed to get good prices and garlic was cultivated only in 51,448 hectares. Due to increase in prices in 2023, cultivation was done on 89,000 hectares.
In Kota division, a large amount of garlic comes to Kota Bhamashah Krishi Upaj Mandi Sabzi Mandi, Baran Krishi Upaj Mandi and Chhipabaraud's specific garlic market. Traders send garlic to the big processing units and export is also done from here.
Omprakash Jain, a garlic trader of Bhamashah Krishi Upaj Mandi, said that large quantities of garlic are coming transported to Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Gorakhpur, Bhubaneswar and other places.
Protest in US as well: US Senator Rick Scott recently called for an investigation into the food safety of garlic grown in China. Senator Scott said that the report reveals that Chinese garlic is cultivated using raw sewage, which possibly contains human waste that is then removed by bleaching. He argued that until the safety and quality of Chinese garlic is guaranteed, it should not be allowed for human use.
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