New Delhi: Director General Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Sarangi has lifted the ban on onion exports but imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $550 per ton.
In August, 2023 India had imposed a 40 per cent export duty on onions up to 31 December, 2023.
“The export policy of onions is amended from prohibited to free subject to MEP of $550 per metric ton with immediate effect and until further orders,” the DGFT Shri Sarangi said in a notification.
On 8 December, 2023, the Union Government banned export of onions from 31 March 2024. In March, the export prohibition was extended till further orders.
In March, the Ministry of Agriculture released the data for onion production.
As per the data, onion production in 2023-24 (First Advance Estimates) is expected to be around 254.73 lakh tons compared to around 302.08 lakh tons last year.
This is due to a decrease of 34.31 lakh tons of output in Maharashtra, 9.95 lakh tons in Karnataka, 3.54 lakh tons in Andhra Pradesh and 312 lakh tons in Rajasthan.
Last month, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said the Union Government has allowed export of 99,150 tons of onion to six neighboring countries.
Those countries are Bangladesh, UAE, Bhutan, Bahrain, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
