MEP on onion raised by $85 a tonne to curb export

With onion prices shooting up to Rs 30 a kg, the government has decided to discourage exports by raising the benchmark price for selling the edible kitchen bulb overseas by $85 a tonne.

Increasing the Minimum Export Price (MEP) to an average of $300-305 a tonne, which would be in force for the rest of this month, would dampen demand for the product in other markets, thus increasing its availability locally.

Though agri cooperative Nafed, which fixes MEP of onion, had decided not to change it for October, it changed its mind and increased the bar by a sharp margin.

The step has been taken in the wake of rising prices in the domestic market.

“Onion MEP has been raised to an average of $300-305 a tonne, with effect from October 6, for the rest of this month because of high prices,” a Nafed official said . In the week till today, onion prices have shot up by 67 per cent in Delhi and 50 per cent in Mumbai and Kolkata, according to the government data on retail rates.

Wholesale prices of onion in trading hub Nashik rose to Rs 1,350 a quintal yesterday from Rs 900 on October 1.