NEW DELHI (Commodity Online): In order to contain spiraling domestic onion prices and thereby to discourage exports, India has hiked the Minimum Export Prices (MEP) of the commodity to $145 a tonnes for November.

The government took this decision in the wake of high pace of onion exports as compared to previous years, said a senior NAFED official. MEP has been raised by $145 to an average of $445-450 a tonne for November, he added.

The onion exports from India are expected to surpass previous year’s record level of 17.6 lakh tonnes, if the export remains at this pace. India has exported 9.91 lakh tonnes of onion in the first half of this fiscal, compared with 9.15 lakh tonnes a year earlier.



Shortage of the commodity in the domestic market due to the high export demand caused for a price hike in the local market. Onion prices in the retail market of the national capital touched as high as Rs 28 a kg. Wholesale rate in Delhi, too, rose sharply to Rs 1,600 a quintal from Rs 830 in the start of September.

NAFED, which fixes onion MEP every month in consultation with 12 other agencies, had raised it by $85 to an average of $300-305 a tonne last month to curb shipments overseas, as rates have nearly doubled in major cities.

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