Master stroke of the central government before the Maharashtra assembly elections!

India's Onion Export: The government has announced the removal of the minimum price limit on onion exports. The government has taken this step at a time when assembly elections are to be held in Maharashtra in the coming few months. Maharashtra is a major onion producing state.

Onion Export: The central government has announced the removal of the minimum price limit on onion exports. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said today i.e. Friday that the minimum export price on onions has been removed with immediate effect.

This decision of the central government will help Indian farmers to take advantage of the situation amid the excess of onions in the international market. The government had earlier set a limit of $ 550 per tonne as the minimum export price. This meant that farmers could not sell their produce abroad at a price lower than this rate. 

The government took steps before the Maharashtra assembly elections

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said in its notification that the condition of minimum export price on onion export has been removed with immediate effect and till further orders. The government has taken this step at a time when assembly elections are to be held in Maharashtra in the coming few months. Maharashtra is a major onion producing state. This step is likely to boost onion exports.

The ban was lifted before the Lok Sabha elections 

In August last year, the government had announced a 40 percent duty on onion exports till December 31, which was later extended to March 31, 2024. Before the Lok Sabha elections, in May 2024, the central government lifted the ban on onion exports. However, the government had fixed a minimum export price on exports.

According to PIB, India is a net exporter of onion and earns income from exports. The net export value earned by India in the last three years was Rs 3,326.99 crore in the year 2021-22, Rs 4,525.91 crore in the year 2022-23 and Rs 3,513.22 crore in the year 2023-24.

According to the report, the total production of onion in Maharashtra in the financial year 2023-24 was 86.02 lakh metric tons. At the same time, the production of onion in the financial year 2022-23 and 2021-22 was 120.33 and 136.69 lakh metric tons respectively.