According to sources the spiraling onion prices due to supply shortage are proving difficult for the government to control. Reportedly onion was quoted 25% higher on Friday at delhi's Azadpur Mandi, a major market of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC). Several other markets in the country too witnessed a steep rise in onion prices on Friday amid reports of crop damage and delay in arrivals of new crop from Maharashtra, Karnataka and other southern states due to heavy rains recently.
Meanwhile in a bid to restrict onion export, the government has set its minimum export price (MEP) at $850 FOB (free on board) per ton. Furthermore according to a Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) notification dated 13 September, all varieties of onions, as described in the notification, will be permitted a letter of credit subject to a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of $850 FOB per metric ton till further orders.
Moreover the government had withdrawn export incentives on onion under the Merchandise Export from india Scheme (MEIS) in June after bulb prices rose sharply in the country. Perhaps onion production in the 2018-19 crop season was higher as compared to the previous season and its production is pegged at 234.85 lakh tonnes against 232.82 lakh tonnes estimated a year ago, as per the third advance estimates of india's horticulture output for 2018-19.
