Ban lifted on Onion Exports from January 1

The central government has notified that the ban on the export of all varieties of onion will be lifted from January 1, 2021. An official notification in this regard was released from the directorate general of foreign trade.

Key Points

• This move has been taken by the government because now the supply crunch has eased with good winter harvests and imports.
• The exports of all varieties of onions can be done from January 1, 2021.
• This ban on the export of all varieties of onions was imposed by the government in September 2020 as a precautionary measure because of the depleting domestic supplies of onions.
• The export of onions in the April-July period rose by an unusual 30% resulting in the rise in prices.
• During the period, the retail prices of onion were Rs 80-100 per kg in most of the states, and the price rise at the wholesale level was also up by 30%.
• As per official trade data, India exported fresh onions worth $328 million and dried onions worth $ 112 million in 2019-20.
• The exports of onions to Bangladesh between April and July 2020 rose to 157.7%.

Similar Ban on Onion Exports

Before this, the government banned onion exports in the year 2019 due to a bad crop crimped output. In 2019 also, the prices of onions rose to Rs80 per kg. This ban was lifted in March 2020.