Government has increased Minimum Export Price of onions
In order to check onion price rise in the domestic market, the government has now designated a Minimum Export Price (MEP) of USD 850 per metric ton. This will help increase supply of Onion in domestic market and in turn, bring the prices down.
Central Government released a notification in this regard.
Onion prices have shot up in Delhi-NCR and other parts of the country. In such a scenario, groups of traders resort to profiteering by exporting the stock at lower prices. This in turn, further increases prices in the domestic markets and consumers bear the brunt of the prices rising further.
The Minimum Export Price (MEP) will mean that profiteering traders will not be able to artificially drop price for the overseas market.
Maharashtra's Lasalgaon is the main marketplace of onions in the country. Even there, prices have risen to Rs 2950 per Quintal. This rate is the highest in the last 20 months.
Onion prices have shot up due to low yields in the Kharif season. Even in Maharashtra, there has been a drop of about 10 per cent in the produce. This has diminished the supply of onions in the domestic market.
Issue of Onion prices has always been a sensitive one as Onion finds its way into the staple diet of Indians in almost all corners of the country.
Household budget of millions of Indians is affected as onion prices fluctuate.
