Mumbai:
The Centre on Tuesday lifted ban on exports of onion after protests from farmers in Maharashtra.
The government had banned exports just 11 days ago, on September 9, to check rising onion prices in the country. Maharashtra's farmers had been protesting the ban due to the bumper crop this year. After the ban wholesale prices had fallen to Rs 400 per quintal from Rs 1000 per quintal.
"When they imposed the ban on it immediately it has come down to 400-500 rupees so that a big problem for all the farmers because even the cost of production that much also they were not getting back. So naturally people came on the roads," said Chhagan Bhujabal, NCP leader and Maharashtra PWD minister.
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on food headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee which met today has also set the minimum export price (MEP) for onion at $475 per tonne. Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said, "The MEP will be reviewed every fortnight and a close watch would be kept on domestic arrivals, total exports, overall domestic availability and domestic prices".
"Justice has been done to onion farmers. When Pranab Mukherjee was in town, I spoke to him with my ministers and explained that with minimum export price constant, the price will not rise for domestic consumption," NCP leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said.
Significantly, onion shortage and skyrocketing food prices during the festival season starting September, has been a recurrent feature for the past three years. The government has also extended sugar stockpiles limit for two months.
It's a big reversal on the politically volatile vegetable, especially at the time when food prices are hitting an all-time high. It is a reversal that is seen to be made under pressure from Maharashtra heavyweights Sharad Pawar and Vilasrao Deshmukh.