The move comes in order to improve the domestic availability of onions, the government said in a notification
The government has imposed a 40 percent export duty on onions until the end of 2023. The move is the latest by the Centre to contain prices of key vegetables amid a massive rise due to supply-side issues.
Data released on August 14 showed India’s headline retail inflation hit a 15-month high of 7.44 percent in July, spurred by a huge jump in tomato prices. Experts say prices of onions may rise similarly now, if not to the same extent.
Moneycontrol had earlier reported that onion prices in key markets across the country have risen sharply and even doubled in some places, including at Maharashtra’s Pimpalgaon and Lasalgoan Agriculture Market Committee, Asia’s largest onion market.
Experts had said that prices have surged due to speculative buying following decreased acreage of onions this monsoon as well as depleted carry-forward rabi stocks.
While prices of key vegetables such as tomato and onion have risen sharply, other food items like cereals, pulses, and milk are burning larger and larger holes in the pocket of households. However, the government has taken a series of steps to keep the price rise in check, including banning the export of non-basmati white rice, among others.