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The Government has slashed the minimum export price (MEP) of onions for the third time this month to $275 per tonne from the earlier price of $350 per tonne.
“MEP of onions other than Bangalore Rose onions and Krishnapuram onions will be $275 per tonne FOB (freight-on-board),” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.
On March 1, the MEP was lowered to $450 per tonne from $600 a tonne and again on March 8, it was reduced to $350 a tonne.
Last month, the Government lifted the ban on onion exports after farmers’ protests due to crashing of domestic prices. It, however, capped the MEP at a higher level of $600 per tonne as a precautionary measure to control retail prices, which had shot up to Rs 70-80 per kg in December last year.
However, the Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, had subsequently indicated that the MEP of $600 per tonne was almost double the prevailing rate in international markets, rendering the onion exports uncompetitive.
MEP for Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram onions was $1,400 per tonne.
The Government had imposed a ban on export after onion prices rocketed and touched as high as Rs 80-85 per kg.
Onion production in the country is likely to be around 10.5 million tonnes in 2010-11 down from 12 mt last year.
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