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The onion prices in Lasalgaon, Asia’s biggest onion market went up by about ₹400 per quintal with a modal rate of the bulb crop touching ₹2,200 per quintal compared to ₹1,200 – ₹1,800 in the past few months. However, the rates would not go up substantially as the flow of onion in the market is rising.
Also read: Curbs on export of onions to go from January 1: Centre
“The market rates were on a decline since the government prohibited onion exports in September. However, with the decision to allow exports, the market prices have gone up on Monday. The rates will not further go up as late kharif crop is coming to the market in the big number,” said Bharat Dighole, president, Maharashtra state onion growers’ association. He added that kharif onion was largely destroyed by unseasonal showers which resulted in rising onion price. “But rates will stabilise with good late kharif crop.”
The central government on Monday lifted the export ban on all varieties of onions with effect from January 1, 2021. Dighole added that farmers have suffered losses because of the Centre’s export ban, but hope to recover at least some losses by exporting onions.
Also read: Onion prices spike in Bangladesh after India bans exports
Sohanlal Bhandari, president of Nashik district onion traders association said, “ The average rate of per kg onion had touched ₹20 in Lasalgaon wholesale market. On Monday the rate was about ₹27 per kg. But the damage has already been caused to farmers because of the export ban.” Bhandari said that the government must not interfere in the market and allow it to function as per its rules.
Onion trader Nitin Jain says that Indian onion has good demand in the international market and the Centre must have a concrete policy instead of making ad hoc decisions.
Also read: Onion prices: Traders make a killing even as onion imports from Egypt arrive
India is the second-largest onion growing country in the world which has two crop cycles — first harvesting is from November to January and the second from January to May.
According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) the country exported 11,49,896.85 mt of fresh onion for ₹2,320.7 crore ($324.20 million) in 2019-20.
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