Centre omits minimum export price for onions

In a bid to encourage export, the government announced that the minimum export price (MEP) for all varieties of onions will be abolished henceforth.

In an official notification, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade on Friday said the requirement of MEP on export of onions stands omitted till further orders.

It further stated that all varieties of onions can now be exported without any MEP.

The same was reiterated by Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, who tweeted, "The requirement of Minimum Export Price on export of onions has been removed. All varieties of onions can now be exported. We are taking all measures to promote exports of agriculture products."

Towards the end of last year, onion prices saw an all-time rise in markets, which left consumers in vain.

On a related note, the Government, in November, had fixed the MEP of onions at USD 850 per tonne, in order to maintain stock of the same in the domestic market.