Onion may become cheaper by January 2024, government expects price to be below Rs 40 per kg

Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said that the decision to ban onion exports will not affect farmers.

Onion inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained in double digits in July, which increased to a four-year high of 42.1 percent in October.

According to the data, 9.75 lakh tonnes of onion were exported from the country between April 1 and August 4 in this financial year. If we talk about value, Bangladesh, Malaysia and UAE are the top three countries which have imported onions from India.

Onion prices have started increasing amid reports of shortage in the current Kharif season. Before imposing the export ban, the central government had in October decided to increase the sale of buffer onion stock at a concessional rate of Rs 25 per kg in the retail markets to provide relief to the public.

To control onion prices in the country, the government has taken several steps even before the export ban, such as setting a minimum export price (MEP) of US $ 800 per tonne on onion export from October 28 to December 31 this year.