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The union government will lift the ban on export of all varieties of onion from January 1 next year, a notification from the directorate general of foreign trade said according to media reports, as the supply crunch eases with good winter harvests and brisk imports.
The export of all varieties of onions, as described above, has been made free from 01.02.2021, the notification said.
On September 15, the government had banned the export of all varieties as a precautionary step since domestic supplies showed signs of depleting due to a bad winter crop and exports.
In the April-July period, the export of onions rose by an unusual 30%, causing prices to show signs of firming up.
Prices had jumped 30% at the wholesale level in that period, while retail prices had soared to Rs80-100 per kg in most urban centres of the country.
According to official trade data, the country exported $328 million worth of fresh onions and $ 112 million worth of dried onions in 2019-20. Between April and July 2020, exports of onions to neighbouring Bangladesh soared 157.7%.
