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With onion prices continuing to rise across the country, the Government may be compelled to consider placing a temporary ban on exports among other policy intervention.
An inter-Ministerial team of senior officials from the Ministries of Commerce, Agriculture and Consumer Affairs will meet soon to take stock of the onion situation in the country to see if market intervention was required, a Commerce Department official told Business Line .
A representative from NAFED, the Government’s agriculture procurement and marketing agency, will also attend the meeting. The possibility of selling subsidised onions through NAFED mobile vans is also likely to be considered, the official added.
NAFED has in the past come to the rescue of the Government by providing partial relief to consumers by selling onions at low prices when retail prices shoot up. Although Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has openly voiced his views against banning onion exports, the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Ministries are yet to take a view.
“The committee of Joint Secretaries will examine all factors, including the movement of domestic prices, the reason for rising prices, existing international prices and the onion stock in the country before taking a view on the matter,” the official said.
Onion prices have risen to over Rs 40 a kg in the retail market, especially after heavy rains hit transportation.
The average retail price rise in the country over last month has been Rs 10-20 with the steepest hike in Delhi, Siliguri, Indore and Dehradun, according to Government estimates.
Onion prices have risen mainly because of heavy rains in producer States, including Maharashtra disrupting production and transportation to mandis.
Prices are likely to ease only in October when the new onion crop comes into the maket.
The country exports 10 per cent of the total onion production.
It exported 5,11,616 tonnes worth Rs 776.47 crore in the first quarter of the fiscal against 5,17,274 tonnes in the year-ago period.
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