| Date: |
25-12-2015 |
| Subject: |
Govt abolishes MEP on onion to boost exports |
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NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday scrapped the minimum export price (MEP) for onions to push outward bound shipments of the commodity as domestic prices crashed dramatically causing distress sale by farmers. Wholesale onion prices have fallen below Rs 10 a kg in the Lasalgaon market compared to Rs 26 in late November.
"All varieties of onions ... can be exported without any MEP," directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification. MEP is the rate below which a commodity cannot be exported.
Earlier this month (December 11) government had reduced the MEP for onions to $400 per tonne from $700, as falling domestic prices had led to farmer groups from Maharashtra demanding that the price restriction should be done away with. Even Maharashtra government had asked the Centre to scrap the MEP.
But this did not help because of simultaneous arrival of the kharif crop and the late-kharif crop in the market.
In August, the government had hiked onion MEP to $700 per tonne, from $ 425, as prices at both wholesale and retail levels skyrocketed because of lower output due to unseasonal rains.
Sources said that onion prices in overseas markets are hovering around $225 and $250 a tonne. India exports around 1.5 million tonnes of onion annually.
Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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