Hike in export quantity of onions okayed

new delhi: the food ministry on wednesday gave conditional approval for a possible hike in the export quantity of onions from the current 7 lakh tonnes in a significant development. recommending immediate release of the entire quota of 7 lakh tonnes of onion with immediate effect, the department of consumer affairs, in a statement released said, “depending on prevailing prices and the availability of onion, the department of consumer affairs will support further enhancement of export quantity of onion�. earlier in the month, the government had released 1 lakh tonnes of onions for export as part of the 2002-03 quota totalling 7 lakh tonnes, same as last year. the recommendation that all 7 lakhs of onion be released for export immediately will now allow the farmers to take advantage of good international prices as well as make way for a rise in the quota to cover the rest of the year. the recommendation, clearly, has come in the wake of strong protests by onion farmers particularly from the biggest producing states of maharashtra and karnataka, who have been facing a glut in the market for the last three years and, consequently, drastically falling prices. last week, after farmers from kopargaon dumped onions on the streets protesting against “political motivation� behind the government’s inertness to their plight and relaxation of export quota ceiling, mos for finance vikhe patil had disclosed that the government was considering removal of onions from the essential commodities list, thereby allowing free movement to deficit states of the commodity and better prices. he had rebutted charges that keeping the same 7 lakh export quota ceiling as last year for onion export was a politically motivated decision. the task force on agriculture had recommended last year that onions be removed from the essential commodities list at the earliest.