Almost a month after putting a blanket ban on onion exports, the Centre on Friday made amendment in its export policy for Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram onions in order to allow export of up to 10,000 tonnes up to March 31, 2021. This is despite onion prices still reeling at Rs 60-70 per kg in the retail markets across India. The Government has, however, not allowed exports of Nashik variety of onions.
The Government had banned the export of all varieties of onions to increase availability and to check the price of the commodity in the domestic market on September 14.
According to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT)’s notification, the onion exports will be allowed only through Chennai port till 31 March, 2021 and the exporters have to get a certificate from their respective horticulture departments of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh certifying the item and quantity.
Karnataka farmers had urged the Centre to allow shipment of 10,000 tonnes of Bangalore Rose variety of onions as there is no demand in the domestic market. This variety has demand in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. And, generally, Krishnapuram onions are not used for consumption in India due to their size and pungency. The onions are imported by Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore.
India exported fresh onions worth $328 million and dried onions worth $112.3 million in FY20. Exports of onions shot up 158% to Bangladesh in the April-July period.