There is good news for onion growers. The Central Government has removed the Minimum Export Price (MEP) of onion with immediate effect. This information has been provided by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) today i.e. 13th September. It is believed that this decision of the government has been taken keeping in mind the interests of farmers and exporters. Onion prices have been on the rise for the last 20 days. Especially in the national capital Delhi, the average price of onion remains at Rs 58 per kg. Whereas the ceiling rate for all India onions is Rs 80 per kg. In such a situation, this decision of the government will also affect onion prices.
The DGFT said in the notification that the Minimum Export Price (MEP) condition for export of onion has been removed with immediate effect and till further orders on Saturday, amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in the country on May 4, 2024, the government announced. The government had banned export of onions on Saturday, but the ban has been lifted. But the Minimum Export Price (MEP) has been fixed at $550 per tonne.
The government lifted the ban
At that time, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification, the onion export policy had been revised with immediate effect and until further orders, it was exempted from the MEP restriction of $550 per tonne. However, the government had continued with the order to impose 40 per cent export duty on onion. Last year in August, India had imposed 40 per cent export duty on onion till December 31, 2023. Before that, on December 8, 2023, the export of onions was banned till March 31 this year.
This decision by the government comes at a time when preparations are underway for the assembly elections in Maharashtra. It is noteworthy that Maharashtra is the largest onion exporting state in India. This move by the government will help farmers to export onions.
Onion storage is 38 lakh tonnes
NCCF and NAFED are said to have a buffer stock of 4.7 lakh tonnes of onion stored by the government. The government retails onions through its shops and mobile vans in collaboration with NCCF and NAFED. According to a Business Standard report, last week Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said that the outlook for onion availability and prices in the coming months remains positive as the area sown in Kharif (summer) had increased rapidly till last month to 2.9 lakh hectares, while in the same period a year ago this area was 1.94 lakh hectares. Apart from this, she said that farmers and traders still have around 38 lakh tonnes of onion stored.
