The government lifted the onion export ban on Saturday, but set the minimum export price (MEP) at $550 per tonne as parliamentary elections continue in the country.
Last night the government imposed a 40 percent tariff on onion exports.
In August last year, India imposed a 40 percent export duty on onion till December 31, 2023.
On December 8, 2023, the government banned the export of onions from March 31 this year. In March, the export ban was extended with additional orders. The Union Agriculture Ministry released the onion production data in March.
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According to the data, onion production is projected to be around 254.73 million tonnes in 2023-24, compared to around 302.08 million tonnes last year. This is due to decline in production by 34.31 million tonnes in Maharashtra, 9.95 million tonnes in Karnataka, 3.54 million tonnes in Andhra Pradesh and 312 million tonnes in Rajasthan.
Last month, in an official statement, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said the government had allowed the export of 99,150 tonnes of onions to six neighboring countries of Bangladesh, UAE, Bhutan, Bahrain, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
Farmers in Maharashtra protested against the export ban.
Accusing the Narendra Modi government of “callous neglect” of Maharashtra’s onion farmers reeling over the ban on onion exports, the Congress last month said its manifesto promised a predictable import-export policy that would prevent such last-minute catastrophic policies from being imposed on farmers .
