An export ban didn't cool onion prices. Now what?
NEW DELHI : A sharp rise in onion prices in the middle of an export ban has prompted the Centre to consider extending the restriction beyond 31 March, a senior official aware of the matter said. At ₹33.34 a kg, the all-India average onion price in the retail market was 41.3% higher than the previous year on Wednesday, data from the consumer affairs ministry showed.
“It (the ban’s extension) could be either till June or September; the possibility is more till June as elections will be around that time, and the government certainly cannot afford prices of food commodities, especially onion, to go up," the official said on condition of anonymity. “Once the elections are over, the government may review the decision whether to extend the ban further, depending on the market situation." The Centre clamped down on onion exports in December, after imposing a 40% export duty in August and hiking the minimum export price to $800 per tonne.
The decision was taken amid concerns over domestic production shortfall caused by irregular rainfall, pushing prices up. The latest development comes in the backdrop of the country’s falling onion production playing out on prices.
Onion output in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June) will fall 15.6% to 25.4 million tonnes, according to the agriculture ministry’s latest estimates, because key growing regions such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan received weak rainfall last summer. Queries sent to the ministries of agriculture & farmers welfare, and consumer affairs, food & public distribution remained unanswered at press time.
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