Onion Exports Dip Due To High MEP.

Owing to high minimum export price (MEP) of onion after lifting of ban in late February, shipment of the bulb from India dropped to as low as about 10% as compared to last year, a development which helped onion exporters of Pakistan, China and Iran having lower MEP.

Indian onion traders contracted only 27,300 tonne of the root vegetable from February 17 (when the government lifted the ban) to March 23 this year, sources in agri-cooperative Nafed, the main agency for contracting onion export, said.

The country had exported 2.81 lakh tonne of onion during the corresponding period a year ago, they said.

The government has slashed the MEP of onion other than Bangalore Rose Onions and Krishnapuram onions, to $170 a tonne on March 31, 2011 from $600 per tonne on February 17.

Following strong intervention by Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, the government had on March 1, this year brought down MEP to $450 per tonne from $600 a tonne. Later, it was brought down in quick successions to $350 a tonne, $275 before bringing it to $170 on March 31 this year.

The government had imposed a ban on export of the kitchen staple after its domestic prices had skyrocketed to R80-85 per kg in December last year.

Source : financialexpress.com