Govt imposes minimum export price of USD 800 per tonne on onion till December 31

The government on Saturday (October 28) imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of USD 800 per tonne on onion exports till December 31, 2023, aiming to increase the availability of vegetable in the domestic market and contain prices. "Exports on onion is free. MEP of USD 800 FOB (free on board) per tonne is imposed till December 31, 2023," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.

The prices of onion have risen further to Rs 65-80 per kg in the retail market of the national capital on lower supply.

Mother Dairy, is selling loose onions at Rs 67 per kg. It has nearly 400 Safal retail stores in the Delhi-NCR.

E-commerce portal Bigbasket is selling at Rs 67 per kg, while Otipy at Rs 70 per kg. Local vendors are selling



onions at Rs 80 per kg.

Along with the decision to impose MEP on onion exports, the Government has also announced the procurement of an additional 2 lakh tons of onion for the buffer, over and above the 5 lakh tons already procured.

Onion from the buffer has been disposed of continuously from the second week of August in major consumption centres all over the country and also supplied to retail consumers at Rs 25/kg through mobile vans operated by NCCF and NAFED.

To date, about 1.70 lakh Metric Tons of onion have been disposed of from the buffer.

The continuous procurement and disposal of onion from the buffer are undertaken to moderate the prices for consumers while ensuring remunerative prices to the onion farmers.