Government permits export of onions from March 15

The Government has permitted export of onions with effect from March 15, 2020, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

Permitting the export of onions is a step in the direction of farmers' welfare. This decision will help in increasing the income of farmers. The Commerce & Industry Minister PiyushGoyal, in a tweet, said "Paving the way for economic empowerment of farmers, Government will allow export of onions from March 15. This decision is a welcome step towards the welfare of domestic producers while also ensuring additional revenue for them."

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Department of Commerce today issued a notification in this regard. The notification says that Onions, which were in the "prohibited" category as per the present policy, will be under the category "free" in the revised policy. The effect of the notification will be that the export of all varieties of onions has been made 'free' without any condition of Letter Of Credit and Minimum Export Price, with effect from March 15, 2020.

Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had tweeted on Wednesday that, "Since the price of onion has stabilized and there is bumper onion crop, the government has decided to lift the ban on the export of onions. Expected monthly harvest in March is over 40 lakh MT compared to 28.4 lakh MT last year."

The government has decided to lift the nearly six-month-old ban on the export of onions as prices of onion may fall sharply due to bumper Rabi crop. This ban was imposed after the prices of the commodity skyrocketed. There was a shortage of onion as Kharif crop was adversely affected due to excessive rains and floods in key producing states, including Maharashtra.