Govt To Ban Export Of Onions

Union commerce minister Ramakrishna Hegde has directed the commerce secretary to impose a temporary ban on the export of onions in order to reduce their prices in the domestic market. If prices still remain high after a week, he said the government would not hesitate to import onions.

Hegde told a two-member Shiv Sena delegation headed by Union minister for environment Suresh Prabhu on Saturday that the government would take every possible measure to reduce prices of onions. Importing onions is one of the steps being considered, Hegde said.

If export of onions was not temporarily banned, the Shiv Sena would be compelled to prevent the export from the Mumbai port, the delegation told Hegde.

A memorandum presented to Hegde and chairman of Nafed recalled that a similar ban on export of onions had been imposed in January this year which resulted in a price reduction from Rs 25 per kg to Rs 8-10 per kg. To prevent hoarding, traders should not be allowed to stock more than 50 tonnes, it also suggested.

According to K L Gidwani, convenor of the Shiv Sena's committee on essential commodities, onion crop in Maharashtra and Gujarat _- major producers in the country _- had been adversely affected due to the intense heat for about two months before harvesting in April/March and the Gujarat cyclone and heavy floods, particularly in Mahuva, Veraval and Bhavnagar districts.

But during April-July 1998, nearly 1.5 lakh tonnes of onion had been exported while supplies from Maharashtra were sent to markets that were normally catered to by the Gujarat crop. The memorandum alleged that nearly 2 lakh tonnes of onion had been hoarded in Nasik district alone, while some traders were also expecting export orders of nearly 1 lakh tonnes.

Due to the absence of Union minister for agriculture Som Pal in the Capital, the Shiv Sena delegation met K Yerren Naidu, chairman of the standing committee on agriculture. Gidwani said the Maharashtra minister for food and civil supplies Haribhau Bagde recently issued orders to impose the stock limit of 50 tonnes to check hoarding in the state by traders.