Onion prices rise in Lasalgaon wholesale market after scrapping of MEP

Onion prices rose at the Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in the district on Saturday following the Union government's decision to scrap the minimum export price (MEP) and halve the export duty, sources said.

The Lasalgaon APMC is one of the biggest onion wholesale markets in the country.

The prices of the kitchen staple in the APMC rose by average Rs 433 per quintal, sources said.

"The removal of MEP is certainly a good decision. The market has increased a bit. We think there should be no export ban. The imposition and removal of such things affects the market. Now MEP has been removed, but farmers' onion produce is running out," said Balasaheb Kshirsagar, Lasalgaon APMC chairman. "There is no clarification yet about whether export charges have been reduced by 20 per cent or 40 per cent," he told PTI.

As many as 425 vehicles or 5,182 quintals of onion arrived at the market on Saturday. The prices ranged from Rs 3,700 to Rs 4,951 per quintal and Rs 4,700 per quintal average. On Friday, around 302 vehicles (3,736 quintals) of onion had arrived and the prices were Rs 2,800 per quintal minimum, Rs 4,411 per quintal maximum and Rs 4,267 per quintal average, APMC sources said.

The government has halved the export duty on onion to 20 percent from 40 per cent. The duty cut is effective from September 14. The 40 per cent export duty had been in place since May 4.

The decisions, including removal of MEP on both onion and basmati rice and cut in the export duty, came ahead of assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.