Centre allows export of 2,000 tonnes of onions
In a surprise move, the Union government on Thursday partially relaxed the indenite ban on onion exports again, paving the way for the “immediate” export of 2,000 tonnes of white onions, primarily grown in Gujarat, from three designated ports.
A notication issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said that exports of white onions would be permitted only after Gujarat’s Horticulture Commissioner certies the item and quantity being exported.
While previous relaxations to the ban specied the countries where shipments could go and mandated that such exports be channelled through the National Cooperative Exports
The relaxation is for white onions, primarily grown in Gujarat that goes to the polls on May 7
Limited (NCEL), the latest notication sets no such conditions. It only stipulates that the exports must be routed through the Gujarati ports of Mundra and Pipavav, or Nhava Sheva in Mumbai.
Incidentally, horticulture exporters are learnt to have written to the Commerce Ministry and the DGFT on April 13 to ascertain if any relaxation is in the o«ng for white onion exports, citing reports of ongoing procurement of export quality white onions at one of Gujarat’s Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs).
Gujarat is the predominant producer and exporter of white onions in the country, with districts like Bhavnagar and Amreli — which go to the polls on May 7 — accounting for a large part of the produce.
The latest relaxation has triggered some disquiet among onion farmers from neighbouring States such as Maharashtra who grow red onions. “Don’t farmers outside Gujarat also deserve export opportunities now that [domestic] wholesale prices for red onions have cooled,” asked a farmers’ representative from Nashik.
Ajit Shah, president of the Horticulture Produce Exporters’ Association or HPEA, said that the order is a step forward and suggested that the same relaxations must be o§ered for red onions as well.