Onion export ban lifted
September 20th, 2011 - 8:41 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) An Empowered Group of Ministers (EgoM) Tuesday lifted the ban on onion exports to help farmers, said Food Minister K.V. Thomas.
The government banned onion exports on Sep 9 to control rising prices, which touched Rs.25 per kg.
Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party chief Madhukar Pichad had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, demanding withdrawal of the ban on onion exports.
Onion farmers from Maharashtra had also approached Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, saying the ban had affected prices of the commodity.
A high-level delegation from Maharashtra led by state Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil too last week met top union ministers, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, seeking removal of the ban.
Pawar had pointed out that arrival of onions in vegetable markets in September was lower than the same period a year ago, but said the overall onion production is expected to be good.
According to officials, the wholesale price of onions declined from Rs.1,000 per quintal before the ban to Rs.600 per quintal in major mandis of Nashik in northern Maharashtra, the main centre of onion trade.
All the onion markets in Nashik district of Maharashtra, the country’s biggest onion-producing state, have remained closed since Sep 9 in protest against the export ban.
India’s onion production is estimated at 151.36 lakh tonnes in 2011-12, which is higher than the previous year’s output of 145.62 lakh tonnes.
Onions are grown in three seasons — kharif (summer), late kharif and rabi (winter).
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- Nashik onion markets to re-open Wednesday - Sep 20, 2011
- Government to monitor onion prices - Sep 06, 2011
- Onion prices shoot up in Maharashtra - Sep 14, 2011
- Nashik onion farmers demand lifting of export ban - Feb 10, 2011
- Onion prices fall in Nashik, Azadpur: Government - Dec 21, 2010
- Onion export ban was not panic decision: Minister - Sep 21, 2011
- Nasik onion traders on strike, prices drop in Maharashtra - Jan 10, 2011
- Vidarbha legislator ends 7-day fast - Nov 20, 2011
- Lift cotton export ban, demand Vidarbha farmers - Feb 27, 2011
- PM did not ask for report on rise in onion prices: Pawar - Dec 25, 2010
- Nafed monitoring markets to check onion prices - Nov 26, 2010
- Pawar says onion prices will fall after three weeks - Dec 21, 2010
- Some subsidy may be restored to tackle drought: Minister - Jul 27, 2012
- Manmohan Singh expresses deep concern over sharp rise in onion prices - Dec 21, 2010
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