Stating that rabi crop arrivals have improved supplies, farmers have demanded lifting the ban on onion exports imposed till March 31, 2024.
“Since the imposition of exports ban last year, the mandi prices has declined to Rs 1500/quintal on Tuesday from around Rs 4500/quintal prevailed prior to the imposition of shipment ban last year,” Jaydutt Holkar, director, agricultural produce market committee (APMC), Lasalgaon, Nashik, Maharashtra, the hub of the country’s wholesale trade told FE.
Holkar said that prices are expected to fall further with arrivals of rabi crops set to peak in the next few weeks. Official sources said the government is yet to take a call on extending a ban on onion exports beyond March 31, 2024.
“Current prices of Rs 1500 a quintal does not even cover the cost of the production of onion,” Balasaheb Misal, former director, Manmard (Maharashtra) mandi board and an onion farmer said.
“The rabi harvest is likely to peak in April,” an official said, adding that rabi harvest constitutes about 60% of the total output and is stored for supplies till October.
According to the department of consumer affairs, modal retail prices of onion declined to Rs 30/kg on Tuesday from Rs 60/kg prevailed prior to the imposition of ban in December last year.
Retail inflation onion was 22.1% in February, while prices rose by 29.69% in January, 2024 on year.
In December 2023, the government had banned exports of onion till March 31,2024 after the modal retail prices of the key agricultural commodities doubled to Rs 60/kg from Rs 30/kg reported in September last year.
Recently, the government has allowed 50,000 tonne and 14,400 tonne of onion exports to Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates respectively.
The export ban was the first intervention in onion exports since January 2021. The government has not imposed a ban on onion exports since 2021, which was the norm a few years back.
In October, 2023, to discourage exports and improve domestic supplies, the government had imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of onion at $ 800/tonne, which translates into Rs 67/kg.
Earlier, the government had imposed a 40% export duty on onions in August last year.
Recently the agriculture ministry has estimated that onion production is likely to fall by 16% to 25.47 MT in the current crop year compared to 2022-23 due to a decrease of 3.43 MT in Maharashtra, the biggest producer of the staple vegetable.