10,000 tonnes of onions

According to a report published by the Mint, India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has approved the export of 10,000 tonnes of onions to Sri Lanka. Previously, due to complications that arose because of the El Niño effect, the Indian government had restricted export of onions during the 2023-24 fiscal year. On 8th December 2023, the export was banned until 31 March, 2024 and now, the ban has been extended indefinitely.

However, based on requests made by other countries, some export was to be allowed on permission granted by the central government. On these terms, India had approved 79,160 tonnes of onions to be exported in December 2023 and has also recently approved 10,000 tonnes of onions to be exported to the United Arab Emirates recently. 

Increasing domestic availability 

In order to control and process the rising prices of onions in India’s domestic market, the central government had imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $800 per tonne on onion exports from October 28, 2024 to December 31, 2023. This means that Indian exporters cannot sell onions at a price lower than $800 per tonne in the international market. In August 2023, the government also imposed a 40% export duty on onion exports until December 31, 2023, that is, the exporters would have to pay 40% tax on the value of onions they would export. These measures were taken to restrict onion export and increase domestic availability, aimed at regularising the rise in onion prices for Indian consumers. 

onions
Image: The Economic Times

India’s reserved onion stockpile

Though onion prices have been steadily increasing, India has been diligently tapping into it’s reserves— around 300,000 tonnes of onions was recognised as buffer stock for 2023-24 season. This was an increase from the 251,000 tonne buffer stock maintained in the 2022-23 season. 

The government has also decided to begin storing rabi onions for 2024-25 season in April, instead of the traditional practise of starting in June. The government has established a goal of procuring 500,000 tonnes of onions during the 2024-25 season. 

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