To stop price increases and boost supply on the domestic market through December 31, 2023, the government on Saturday placed a 40% levy on the export of onions. The Finance Ministry sent out a notice earlier today. “Government imposes 40 per cent duty on onion exports till December 31”.
The central government had earlier decided it will maintain 3 lakh tonne of onions in the 2023-24 season as buffer stock. In 2022-23, the government maintained 2.51 lakh tonne onion as buffer stock.
The Managing Directors of the government’s agricultural marketing organisations, including the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF), met with Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Food and Public Distribution Department, on Thursday to finalise the disposal modalities.
“It was decided to release the onion stocks by targeting key markets in states or regions where retail prices are ruling above the all-India average and also where the rates of increase in prices over the previous month and year are above the threshold level. Disposal through e-auction and retail sales on e-commerce platforms are also being explored,” a food ministry mentioned in a statement on Friday.
The 60% of India’s onion output that is harvested during the Rabi season, which runs from April to June, satisfies consumer demand until the Kharif crop is harvested in October or November. During the lean supply season, the purchased inventories are often issued through targeted open market sales as well as to states, Union territories, and government agencies for supplies over retail outlets.
