Scrap onion MEP has marginally increased India's outbound shipments

NEW DELHI: Lowering of the minimum export price for onions to $150 a tonne recently has marginally increased India's outbound shipments of the kitchen staple, but traders feel the government should do away with the MEP completely to help the country hold sway in global markets.

"Reduction of export price to $150 per tonne has made Indian bulb competitive in the international market. Onion export from India has increased by about 10 per cent after this," Agriculture Export Association, Mumbai, President Ajit Shah told PTI.

He said exports would further gain momentum when the markets of China and Singapore open after closure for the New Year.

R P Gupta, Director of the National Horticultural Research Development Foundation (NHRDF), an arm of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), echoed similar views.