40% Export Duty On Onions To Control Prices And Improve Domestic Stocks (Image: unsplash.com)
A 40% duty has been imposed on the exports of onion by the central government, to bring down the prices. “The national average of the essential vegetable had increased by at least 5% compared to the last year,” the Hindu reported.
A gazette notification of the Union Finance Ministry’s Revenue Department on this read that the 40% duty was with immediate effect and would remain till 31 December, 2023. This move has been initiated to bring the price rise under control and also to improve the availability of onions in the domestic market.
In recent months, the prices of onion had been on a rise. All through India, the retail prices of onion were 30.72/kg on Saturday, 19 August 2023, which is 20.75% higher when compared to last year, 2022’s rate of 24.44/kg. Just a month before, the prices stood at 27.21/kg as per the data on prices available on the Consumer Affairs Department website, reported Indian Express.
The exports of onion have also impacted it prices. Onion exports had reached 6.38 lakh metric tonnes in April-June 2023, a 26.51% high in comparison to 5.04 lakh metric tonnes registered during the same period last year. Onion exports were high in June this year, with 2.92 lakh metric tonnes which is 89.56% high than the 1.54 lakh metric tonnes when looked at the corresponding month last year. In the period April- June 2023, India exported to a total 65 countries, the top five countries include Bangladesh (1.39 lakh metric tonnes), Malaysia (1.07 lakh metric tonnes), United Arab Emirates (0.90 lakh metric tonnes), Sri Lanka (0.80 lakh metric tonnes), and Nepal (0.39 lakh metric tonnes).
“The export duty will make Indian onions more expensive than those from Pakistan, China, and Egypt. This will naturally lead to lower exports and aid in reducing local prices,” Ajit Shah, an exporter based in Mumbai, told Reuters, reported the Wire.
Of recent, price rise has been registered in the cases of vegetables, in particular tomatoes, wheat, rice and some pulses, the government has been taking the necessary steps to bring it under control. Earlier, restrictions on export of commodities like wheat and rice were also imposed in order to contain the prices and improve the stocks.
