The Centre on Saturday lifted the ban on onion exports as the onion-producing Nashik region gears up for Lok Sabha elections.
However, the government has imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $550 per tonne. Earlier, the Centre had imposed an export duty of 40 per cent on onions from May 3.
"The export policy of onions is amended from prohibited to free subject to MEP of USD 550 per metric ton with immediate effect and until further orders," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification on Saturday.
This comes days after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidates slammed the Centre's earlier move to allow export of 99,150 tonnes of onion to six countries, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Bahrain and Mauritius. Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Rajabhau Waje contesting in Nashik and NCP (SCP)'s Bhaskar Bhagare contesting in Dindori had on April 28 called the move an eyewash ahead of the elections to woo farmers protesting the export ban, reported The Times of India.
The earlier decision to ban export was made in a bid to curb rising prices of onion. On Friday, the government also lifted the import duty on Bengal gram till March 2025 after a decline in its production was reported.
