The government has lifted the ban on onion exports from May 4, 2024 and allowed exports with a minimum export price (MEP) of US$ 550 per metric tonne and 40 per cent export duty. In the current financial year 2024-25, a total of 2.60 lakh tonnes of onion has been exported till July 31, 2024. In addition, the government has procured 4.68 lakh tonnes of onion mainly from Maharashtra through National Consumer Cooperative Federation and NAFED for price stabilization buffer. Compared to last year (2023), the price received by onion growers in the current year has been much higher. The average monthly Mandi Model Prices of onion in Maharashtra between April to July, 2024 ranged between Rs 1,230 and Rs 2,578 per quintal as against Rs 693 and Rs 1,205 per quintal for the same period last year (2023). The average purchase price of onion for buffer in the current year was Rs 2,833 per quintal, which is 64 per cent higher than the purchase price of Rs 1,724 per quintal last year.
India is a net exporter of onion and earns export revenue. The net export value earned by India in the last three years was Rs 3,326.99 crore in the year 2021-22, Rs 4,525.91 crore in the year 2022-23 and Rs 3,513.22 crore in the year 2023-24.
The state-wise production of onion and annual domestic consumption data of onion during each of the last three years, calculated from the report of Domestic Consumption Survey, year 2022-23 of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, is given in Annexure-I.
The country-wise export and import of onion during the last three years is given in Annexure-II.
