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To put a check on spiralling domestic prices of onions, the Government is open to raising the minimum export price (MEP) of the bulb further if required.
The Commerce Ministry is keeping a close eye on the movement of domestic prices of onions and will call an inter-ministerial meet if it sees the need for further intervention, an official told BusinessLine.
Close watch on prices“We are constantly monitoring the prices of onion in various mandis and are in touch with the Agriculture Ministry, too, on the matter. If we see further pressure on prices, despite our recent decision to raise MEP, we will take a fresh view on the matter and may raise it further,” the official said.
The MEP is a minimum price stipulated by the Government below which exports of a particular commodity is not allowed.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade had increased the MEP for onions last month to $425 a tonne for all varieties from $250, following the increase in wholesale prices to ₹16/kg in June from ₹12 in May.
Costly bulbWhile onion prices fell following the increase in MEP, it has subsequently risen touching a high of ₹ 36 per kg at the Lasalgaon Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) on Tuesday.
At the retail level, Thiruvananthapuram recorded the highest price of ₹59 a kg this week, according to Government figures.
In Delhi, consumers are paying up to ₹44 for onions.
Kharif supply“If the Agriculture Ministry gives an indication that the existing MEP has also been breached, we will take a decision on raising it further,” the official said.
Supply, shipmentsThe Government is hopeful that onion prices will stabilise in the next couple of weeks as early harvest of the kharif crop has started taking place in parts of Andhra Pradesh and supply from Karnataka is expected soon. India exported 10.86 lakh tonnes of onion valued at ₹2,009 crore in 2014-15. In the previous year, onion exports were estimated at 13.58 lakh tonnes worth ₹2,877 crore.
Indian onion is mainly shipped to countries such as Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates and Nepal among others.
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