The Empowered Group of Ministers, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, has decided to lift the ban on onion exports. Onions can be now exported subject to a minimum export price (MEP) of US $ 475 per tonne.
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| Onion exports | ||
| Year | Onion Export from India (quantity in tonnes) |
Export value in crores (Rs) |
| 2004-05 | 944,000 | 817.49 |
| 2005-06 | 770,000 | 620.27 |
| 2006-07 | 1,161,000 | 1,135.42 |
| 2007-08 | 1,101,000 | 1,285.82 |
| 2008-09 | 1,671,000 | 1,816.14 |
| Onion Production: state-wise area, production and productivity of onion (2009-10) | |||
| State | Area (In thousand hectares) |
Production (In thousand tonnes ) |
Productivity (tonnes/ha) |
| Andhra Pradesh | 26.00 | 244.00 | 9.38 |
| Bihar | 28.75 | 329.88 | 11.47 |
| Gujarat | 35.50 | 750.00 | 21.13 |
| Karnataka | 53.00 | 395.00 | 7.45 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 39.55 | 517.35 | 13.08 |
| Maharashtra | 111.65 | 2409.18 | 21.58 |
| Odisha | 60.45 | 522.47 | 8.64 |
| Rajasthan | 37.75 | 570.00 | 15.10 |
| Tamil Nadu | 30.50 | 320.50 | 10.51 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 69.50 | 778.75 | 11.21 |
| Haryana | 16.00 | 329.00 | 20.56 |
| Others | 45.50 | 563.00 | 12.37 |
The government’s move had sparked a protest in onion growing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka with farmers pressurizing the government to lift the ban.
Interestingly, agriculture experts say the MEP of US $ 475 per tonne is very high. A farm economist from Punjab Agricultural University said that competitors like China and Pakistan are selling onion at around US $ 170 to 180 per tonne in the international market and finding the price (US $ 475) which Centre has decided is really very difficult. He added that with lifting of export ban, farmers are not going to make much profit because when they will bring their bulks in the market, the prices are likely to fall.
“The export ban policy of India for cash crops like basmati rice, onion and sugar is faulty and farmers have to suffer because of it most of the times. There is no strategy or policy in India that governs export bans. Export ban is an arbitrary decision of the government,” he adds.