Shamjibhai Khunt, chairman of Rajkot Market Yard, claimed that no auction was held in any yard, except the one at Gondal, where 25,000 bags were sold. He said the farmers did not bring the crop to the yards.

Khunt also claimed that there was no trading at the oil and oilseeds rings. The Rajkot Seeds and Bullion Merchants Association had agreed to stop business in groundnut to support the cause of producers, he said.

The farmers want that the restrictions should be lifted so that they could sell the crop in neighbouring states where the price is higher. Khunt said there was no restriction on the movement of oilseeds in any other state, and the Centre was also against it. Yet, the Gujarat Government was not lifting the restrictions.

The travails of Mohanbhai Nanjibhai, a farmer of Chanaka village in Bhensan taluqa of Junagarh district, who had brought 200 bags of groundnut to the Rajkot yard, provided an example of the hardships being faced by producers.

For five days, Mohanbhai participated in the auction, but the bids never crossed Rs 225 for a bag of 20 kg. Since the price did not meet even his cost of production, Mohanbhai on Monday decided to take his crop back home. ``I spent Rs 1,000 on bringing the crop here. Now I have to spend another Rs 1,000 to take it back home'', rued Mohanbhai.

Mohanbhai said he was offered a price of Rs 300 in the village itself, but he had decided to come to the yard in the hope of better returns. A marketing yard official said Mohanbhai, whose crop was of bold variety, could get a higher price from seed dealers at Amreli or Junagarh. In Rajkot, there was no market for this variety as it had a low oil content, the official said.