Govt lifts ban on onion exports

Faced with protests from farmers, the government today decided to lift the ban on onion exports.

The decision to permit shipment of onions was taken by the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Food headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee here.

"Ban on onion exports has been lifted," Union Minister for Science and Technology Vilasrao Deshmukh said.

Those who attended the crucial meeting included Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Food and Consumer Affairs Minister KV Thomas.

The government had imposed a ban on onion exports on September 9 to check its spiralling prices which touched Rs 25 a kg in retail in the national capital.

The Minimum Export Price (MEP) on onions has been fixed at $475 per tonne, the same level when the government decided to prohibit the shipment of onion, Deshmukh said.

"The situation will be reviewed after a fortnight," he said.

While the ban on exports had an instant impact in bringing down the wholesale prices of the onions by Rs 2-5 per kg in Delhi, the decision had triggered protests from farmers in the key producing regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Farmers in Nashik district and Bangalore had refused to bring their produce to markets protesting the drop in their profit level due to ban on onion exports.

The farmers' agitation forced the government to take a fresh look on the onion exports ban.