The government has lifted the ban on export of onion. However, for this the Minimum Export Price (MEP) has been fixed at $550 i.e. about Rs 45,800 per metric ton. That means the price of onion to be exported must be minimum Rs 45,800 per metric ton. This order has come into effect from today itself and will remain valid till further orders. Apart from this, the government has also decided to impose 40% export duty on onion export. In December last year, when the price of onion had reached Rs 70 to 80, the government had banned the export of onion. Onion export ban lifted before the third phase of voting. In December last year, the government had banned the export of onion till March 31, 2024, but after that its shipment was allowed based on the request of the countries. After this, last month itself the government had extended the export ban on onion till further orders. Since the increase in the export ban, traders and farmers, especially the farmers of Maharashtra, have been requesting for removal of the export ban. He said that this will help the farmers to get better prices. Now the government has lifted the ban at a time when voting for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections is going to take place on May 7. Onion prices had increased rapidly after Navratri. After Navratri in October, onion prices started increasing rapidly across the country and more than doubled in just one week. After which, to reduce the burden on consumers, the government started selling onions at the rate of Rs 25 per kg through government sales centers like National Cooperative Consumer Federation (NCCF) and NAFED from October 27. Onion is an important part of India’s political economy Onion has always been an important part of India’s political economy, especially when it comes to election time. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself had described the 1980 central elections as ‘onion elections’.
