Onion exports double in Dec at 1.33 lakh tonnes on MEP cut

Onion exports have more than doubled during December at over 1.33 lakh tonnes compared with the previous month after government lowered the minimum export price (MEP).
Exports of onions stood at 66,236 tonnes during November, 2013, according to data compiled by the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF).
During last month, the government had slashed onion MEP three times in order to boost exports and check the sliding domestic prices of edible bulb that led to farmers protest in producing states.
On December 26, onion MEP, which is the benchmark price below which the commodity cannot be exported, was reduced to USD 150 a tonne from USD 350 a tonne.

Before that, MEP was reduced to USD 350 per tonne from USD 800 a tonne on December 19, while it was cut to USD 800 a tonne from USD 1,150 on December 16.
As per NHRDF data, onion exports jumped more than two-fold to 1,33,290 tonnes in December as against 66,236 tonnes in the previous month. However, exports were lower than December 2012 that saw shipments of 1,37,956 tonnes.

During April-December period of 2013-14, onion exports have declined by 30 per cent to 9.87 lakh tonnes as compared with 14.04 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period of previous financial year.

India exported 18.22 lakh tonnes of onions in the entire 2012-13 fiscal.
The government had imposed MEP on onion in September and then it was raised several times to curb exports and boost domestic supplies as retail prices had shot up as high as Rs 100 per kg in major parts of the country. The country had to even import onion to control price rise.
With improved domestic supplies and crash in wholesale rates, the Centre has now reduced the MEP sharply to boost exports and stabilise the domestic prices. Wholesale rates in Lasalgaon mandi in Nashik have risen to Rs 11.25 per kg from around Rs 10 per kg last month.