The government on Saturday lifted the ban on onion exports subject to a minimum export price of USD 550 per tonne, a decision that can help boost income of a large section of farmers and comes ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in key producing regions including Maharashtra.
The government has imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of USD 550 per tonne (around Rs 46 per kg) as well as 40 per cent export duty. Taking duty into account, the shipments will not be allowed below USD 770 per tonne (around Rs 64 per kg).
On December 8 last year, the Centre had banned onion exports in early December to control retail prices amid concerns over likely fall in production. During the last 4-5 years, the country annually exported between 17 lakh and 25 lakh tonnes of onions.
As per the data, onion production in 2023-24 (First Advance Estimates) is expected to be around 254.73 lakh tonnes compared to around 302.08 lakh tonnes last year. This is due to a decrease of 34.31 lakh tonnes output in Maharashtra, 9.95 lakh tonnes in Karnataka, 3.54 lakh tonnes in Andhra Pradesh and 312 lakh tonnes in Rajasthan, the data showed.
Last month, in an official statement, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said the government has allowed export of 99,150 tonnes of onion to six neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, UAE, Bhutan, Bahrain, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
Farmers in Maharashtra had protested against the export ban.
The Congress last month accused the Narendra Modi government of “callously neglecting” Maharashtra’s onion farmers reeling due to the ban on onion exports and said that its manifesto promises a predictable import-export policy to prevent such catastrophic last-minute policies being imposed on farmers.
PTI
