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Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said that he is not in favour of a ban on onion exports.
Replying to a query, Pawar said that it was not fair to ban the export of any agri-commodity as it would affect the image of India as a reliable supplier.
India’s agri-commodity exports have touched Rs 2.33 lakh crore in 2012-13 against the previous year’s Rs 1.85 lakh crore, Pawar told reporters on the sidelines of India Dairy Summit 2013 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Spiralling prices of onion in recent weeks have led to a demand in some quarters for a ban on exports to boost the domestic availability.
On the onion price rise, Pawar said that it was a temporary phenomenon as heavy rains in the key producing states have affected the supplies.
Onion prices have almost doubled in retail markets across the country as heavy monsoon rains have affected the crop in several states resulting in disruption of supplies.
Also, the prices of other widely consumed vegetables, including tomato and potato, have also shot up in recent weeks.
Last week, Pawar had said that onion supplies were expected to improve after three weeks with the new crop coming in from states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The recent rising trend in vegetable and food prices had fuelled food inflation, which rose to 9.74 per cent in June from 8.25 per cent in May.
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