The Minister of Agribusiness, Maneesh Gobin, announced that the price of the onion variety Toupie is now liberalized.
Speaking at Trou-d’Eau Douce, during the harvest of this variety of onion, he suggested that this liberalization concerns only this variety and that the price remains unchanged for other varieties of onions. The price has been fixed at Rs 20 per half kilo. He explained that the Cabinet agreed to this liberalization after hearing the grievances of onion farmers.
The latter stress that they are unable to continue planting onions of this variety because the yield is very low and the cost of production and labor are lacking. This is why the government has decided to liberalize the price of onions.
The Minister of Agribusiness recalled that the government had imposed a control on the price of onion during the sanitary confinement because traders were making a big deal out of the price of the condiment. To prevent the price from rising further, the government took the decision to fix the price of onion and potato at Rs 20 per half kilo. This decision brought relief to consumers, the minister said.
Before acceding to the request of the onion growing community, he said, he had asked the Fond and Agricultural Research Institute (FAREI) to conduct a study on the cost of production of onion tops. It is in light of the recommendations of this institute that the government decided to liberalize the price of onions.
During the ceremony, the Minister stressed the importance of producing locally. He recalled that with Covid-19, it had become essential to import many products to Mauritius. If one day, the country cannot import due to circumstances beyond the control of the government, the population will end up starving. That is why he asked the population to take an interest in the land in order to achieve food security. Several members of the government came to the meeting. Among them were the Minister of Tics, Deepak Balgobin, the PPS, Rajanah Dhaliah and the Minister of Fisheries, Sudheer Maudhoo.
