India’s onion exports shot up by 33% in Apr-Feb

The Dollar Business Bureau

The onion exports from India increased by 33% to Rs. 2,362 cr during the first 11 months of FY2015-16.

The data compiled by the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation  revealed that about 9,80,566 tonnes of onions were exported during 11 months of 2015-16 fiscal, as against 9,70,442 tonnes in the 11 months of previous fiscal year.

On the back of higher sales realization, the exports escalated to Rs 2,362 crore from Rs 1,771 crore worth exports recorded in previous fiscal.

The average price worked out to Rs 28,215 per tonne in Fy16 against Rs 18,507 in FY15.

In June 2015, the government hiked the Minimum Export Price to $452 per tonne. Later, the price was further hiked in August to $700 per tonne, as the prices touched the sky due to lower production.

In December 2015, the MEP on onion was scrapped by the government in a bid to push exports.

MEP is the rate below which no exporter is allowed to trade.

In 2015-2016 crop year, the output stood at 206 lakh tonnes, as against 189 lakh tonnes of onions produced in 2014-2015 crop year.

Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are the top three onion producers in India.