Indian government has allowed onion export to some countries including Bangladesh. This approval has been given on the basis of the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country. On Monday (February 19), the Indian newspaper Economic Times reported about the source familiar with the matter.
A source told the media that a limited amount of onion export has been approved for bilateral purposes. However, the ban on onion export has not been lifted.
Another source said the Indian government has approved the export of onions to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bahrain, Bhutan and Nepal in limited quantities.
India, the world’s second largest onion exporter, has banned the export of the product from December 2023 to March 2024. Such decisions are taken to deal with rising prices and possible shortages in the country. India’s decision has increased the price of onion in neighboring countries.
India imposed a 40 percent tariff in August 2023 to curb onion exports as prices rose. However, the government set a minimum price of $800 per ton of onion exported from October 28 due to the failure of the expected success.
Rain and hail in Maharashtra’s Nashik and Ahmednagar have delayed the arrival of new onions in the November market. This caused prices to rise and the government was forced to ban exports. The ban on exports has been in place since December 8.
As a result of this ban, the price of onion in the wholesale market has come down. 40 to Rs 13 per kg in Nashik. Due to this, onion farmers have been protesting for two months demanding the withdrawal of the export ban.
In early February, a central government delegation visited the onion growing areas of Maharashtra. The delegation was supposed to make recommendations to the government on the export ban.
Meanwhile, the largest exporters on Sunday said in a letter to the government that onion exports should be allowed in light of limited restrictions rather than a complete stop. Because if a large quantity is exported, the price of onion may increase in the domestic market.
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