AgriNation Staff
New Delhi. 15 Sep. 20

Onion experiences have not been good for ruling BJP. It swept away their government in Delhi once. Seeing the rise in onion prices, Centre on Monday banned the export of all varieties of onions with immediate effect to curb rising prices of the commodity in the domestic market by increasing its availability. The decision came in the wake of Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) yesterday. The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for August was 9.05 as against 9.27 of last month. The overall measure of inflation was 6.69 percent which was well above the Reserve Bank of India’s target of 6 percent.

“The export of all varieties of onion is prohibited with immediate effect,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

Farmers in Nashik which is one of the major trade centres for Onion have staged protest on Tuesday against this decision of Modi government.

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat are major onion producing states and 40 percent of the country’s total onion crop is produced in the Kharif season and the rest during the Rabi season. The Kharif crop, however, cannot be stored.

Onion is selling around Rs 40 – 50 per kilogram in the national capital and adjoining Noida and Gurgaon.

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