On Saturday, the central government announced that it has permitted the export of 99,500 tonnes of onions, primarily procured from Maharashtra, to six neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, UAE, Bhutan, Bahrain, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka notwithstanding the embargo on shipments.
Amidst a ban on onion exports aimed at ensuring ample domestic availability, this decision arises due to expected lower Kharif and Rabi crops in 2023-24 compared to the previous year, alongside increased international market demand.
The National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), responsible for onion exports to these nations, procured domestic onions designated for export through the e-platform at L1 prices. These onions were then provided to the agency or agencies nominated by the government of the destination country at negotiated rates, with 100% advance payment required.
NCEL’s offer rates to buyers consider prevailing prices in the destination market as well as international and domestic markets. The export quota allocated to the six countries is being supplied based on requests made by each destination country. Maharashtra, being the largest onion producer in the country, serves as the primary source of onions procured by NCEL for export.
The government has also permitted the export of 2000 metric tons of white onions cultivated specifically for export markets in the Middle East and certain European countries. White onion production is entirely export-oriented, leading to higher production costs compared to other onion varieties due to increased seed costs, adoption of good agricultural practices (GAP), and compliance with strict maximum residue limit (MRL) requirements.
Under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) of the Department of Consumer Affairs, the procurement target for onion buffer from the Rabi-2024 season has been set at 5 lakh tons this year. Central agencies such as NCCF and NAFED are collaborating with local agencies like FPOs/FPCs/PACs to support procurement, storage, and farmer registration for initiating the procurement of storable onions.
A high-level team comprising officials from the Department of Consumer Affairs, NCCF, and NAFED visited Nashik and Ahmednagar districts of Maharashtra from April 11th to 13th, 2024, to raise awareness among farmers, FPOs/FPCs, and PACs regarding the procurement of 5 lakh metric tons of onions for the PSF buffer.
To minimize onion storage losses, the Department of Consumer Affairs has decided to increase the quantity of stocks to be irradiated and cold-stored from 1200 metric tons last year to over 5000 metric tons this year, with technical assistance from BARC, Mumbai. The onion irradiation and cold storage pilot initiated last year have been successful in reducing storage losses to less than 10 percent.
