Call for ban on onion exports to rein in prices

Faced with a steep rise in prices and an anticipated shortfall in production, traders across the country have called for a ban on onion exports.

According to traders, if the government wants to check the rising prices it has to ban exports of onion, and they also warned of a supply shortage towards the year-end because of lower output.

Even though the ban would not compensate for 40 per cent of the estimated output loss this year, it would offer some relief to consumers, said an exporter in Mumbai.

India's onion exports stood at 179,000 tonnes this year against 285,000 tonnes in the year-ago period. The country's total exports accumulate up to 1 million tonnes every year.

Normal variety of onion eased by Rs 20 to settle at Rs 100 per 10 kg, while super variety was traded at Rs 105 per 10 kg last week.

But, traders are hopeful that the price would rebound once again this week and continue moving upwards.

Within a month, onion is expected to touch the peak of Rs 150 per 10

kg, mainly because of shortage of supply. Moreover, farmers are storing their produce at double the storage cost, which has increased to Rs 450-500 a quintal from Rs 200-250 last year. Farmers are now waiting for the price to settle down above Rs 100 per 10 kg to flush out their inventory.

Last price hike invited arrivals from Indore and Rajasthan to Mumbai mandis, where stocks have almost exhausted. Now, the entire country depends upon Nashik onion.

With demand pouring in from Sri Lanka and Dubai, exporters are booking at more than Rs 100 per 10 kg to meet their commitments. As a result, prices are not going to ease in the near future.

According to farmers, Gujarat and Rajasthan would have lower than expected crop this year on a slowdown in sowing. Crop in the south has been badly affected. Hence, Nashik crop is going to supply onion throughout the country.