India bans onion export, reports The Economic Times

India on Monday prohibited the export of all varieties of onion except those cut, sliced or in powder form, revealed a report of The Economic Times 

“The export of all varieties of onion…is prohibited with immediate effect,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) of the country said in a notification.

India exported $198 million of onions in the April-June period of FY21 and $440 million in the entire 2019-20.

Bangladesh, Malaysia, UAE and Sri Lanka are the top importers of Indian onions.

The ban includes Bangalore rose onions and Krishnapuram onions.

These varieties of onion were free for export till now.

“Rates have increased and there is shortage of onion in the domestic market. While this shortage is seasonal, a huge amount of exports were done in the last few months during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said an official aware of the development.

India had last year banned the exports of the key kitchen staple in the wake of its rising prices in the country and set the minimum export price (MEP) of onion at $850 a tonne to curb its shipments and help bring down soaring prices in the domestic market due to floods in parts of major growing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The MEP was lifted in March this year and onions were made free for export.