Govt lifts ban on onion export

An empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on food met in New Delhi on Tuesday and lifted the ban on onions amid protests by growers in the key producing regions against the prohibition.

The decision to permit shipment of onions was taken by the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Food headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi.

"Ban on onion export has been lifted," Union Minister for Science and Technology Vilasrao Deshmukh told reporters while emerging from the meeting.

Those who attended the crucial meeting included Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Food and Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas.

The government had imposed a ban on onion exports on September 9 to check its spiralling prices which touched Rs 25 a kg in retail in the national capital.

The Minimum Export Price (MEP) on onions has been fixed at USD 475 per tonne, the same level when the government decided to prohibit the shipment of onion, Deshmukh said.

"The situation will be reviewed after a fortnight," he said.

While the ban on exports had an instant impact in bringing down the wholesale prices of the onions by Rs 2-5 per kg in Delhi, the decision had triggered protests from farmers in the key producing regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Farmers in Nashik district and Bangalore had refused to bring their produce to markets protesting the drop in their profit level due to ban on onion export.

The farmers' agitation forced the government to take a fresh look on the onion export ban.