India lifts ban on onion exports

A worker of a retail chain pushes a trolley loaded with onion bags at Manchar village in Pune, 11 November - Reuters

NEW DELHI (Reuters): India has lifted a ban on onion exports, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said last week, as prices of the bulb have fallen sharply in the last few weeks on expectations of a big crop.

“Since the price of onions has stabilised and there is a bumper onion crop, the Government has decided to lift ban on export of onions,” Paswan said on Twitter.

India, the world’s biggest exporter of onion, banned exports of onions in September last year to keep domestic supplies intact after flooding in several states worsened seasonal shortages, leading to a spike in local prices.

The wholesale prices of onions have more than halved in the last five weeks, according to data compiled by the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation, a government agency.