Onion prices are likely to drop in the upcoming days as the government of India removed a minimum export price on the vegetable on Friday, September 13. This will help farmers export their produce to the international market.
The Central had previously fixed a USD 550 per tonne as the minimum export price (MEP), which essentially meant farmers could not sell their produce overseas at lower than this rate. A DGFT notification issued on Friday removed the MEP with immediate effect.
The move comes ahead of assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and other farmer-back states. "The Minimum Export Price (MEP) condition on Export of onions is removed with immediate effect and until further orders," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.