Centre imposes minimum export price of $800 per tonne on onions till December 31

The Indian government on Saturday imposed a $800 per tonner minimum export price on onions being shipped from the subcontinent amid an increase in the cost of the root vegetable across the country.

"Export of onions is ‘free’. Minimum Export Price (MEP) of US $800 F.O.B per Metric Ton (MT) is imposed till 31st December, 2023," a notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) read.

The DGFT notification indicates that the export poicy change will go into effect starting Sunday, October 29. The notification also laid out exceptions to the new regulation, stating that onions designated for export and already handed over to Customs are exempt as well shipments for which export duty has been paid before the notification was sent out.


"Where onions consignment has been handed over to the Customs before this Notification and is registered in their system / where onions consignment has entered the Customs station for exportation before this Notification," the notification said.

The average wholesale price of onions at the benchmark Lasalgaon APMC in Maharashtra have jumped close to 60% in the last fortnight, rising 18% in the last one week. The maximum price for the best quality onion touched Rs 50/kg in Delhi on Wednesday as well as in some markets of Maharashtra. Onion prices are expected to continue to rise till December, when the new kharif crop is expected to hit the markets after a delay of nearly two months.

In the national capital, onion prices have further risen to Rs 65-80 per kg in the retail market. Mother Dairy, which has around 400 Safal retail stores in the Delhi-NCR, is selling loose onions at Rs 67 per kg. E-commerce portal Bigbasket is selling at Rs 67 per kg, while Otipy at Rs 70 per kg.

With inputs from Agencies