Centre Prohibits Export Of All Varieties Of Onions With Immediate Effect

Export policy of Onion is amended from free to prohibited till further orders, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry stated.

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New Delhi: As prices of Onion continue to soar in the country due to supply shortage, the Ministery of Commerce on Sunday amended the export policy of onion in order to bring the rates down. Export policy of Onion is amended from free to prohibited till further orders, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry stated. Hence, export of all varieties of onions is prohibited with immediate effect. In a notification issued today by Director-General of Foreign Trade, Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi announced an amendment in export policy of onions. "Export policy of onion for the item description at Serial Number 51 & 52 of Chapter 7 of Schedule 2 of ITC (HS) classification of Export and Import Items is amended from free to prohibited till further orders", the notification reads. On September 26, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had asked the states to buy onions from Centre and asserted that their requirements would be fulfilled immediately. "To augment onion supplies to the markets, a team of two joint secretary-level officers have been sent to Maharashtra to talk to the farmers, traders and transporters to assess the availability of onions and to persuade them to bring more onions to the market," Paswan had said in a series of tweets. Onions prices have been pinching the pockets of consumers across country. With the supply of onions from flood-hit states like Maharashtra affected, they are being sold at higher rates in many parts of the country, with prices varying in 60-80 per kg in retail markets. In a bid to bring relief to consumers in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on Saturday flagged off mobile vans for supplying onions at Rs 23.90 per kg. The Delhi government on Friday had announced the onions in the city will be sold at Rs 23.90 per kg through mobile vans and at ration shops from Saturday.