India allowed to export 10,000 tonnes of onion each to these two countries India has given permission to export 10,000 tonnes of onion each to Sri Lanka and UAE

New Delhi, April 16: India has approved the export of 10,000 tonnes of onion each to Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates (UEI) through the National Cooperative Export Cooperative, the Department of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a release.

Along with this, India has approved to export 99,160 tonnes of onion beyond the ban on shipment imposed in December 2023. The government recently approved the export of 10,000 tonnes of onion to the UAE, up from 14,400 tonnes on March 1.

Tight global supplies and dry weather caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon prompted the government to restrict exports by 2023-24. On 8 December 2023, the government had banned the export of onion till 31 March 2024. It has now been extended indefinitely. But based on the pleas made by both the countries, the company was allowed to export with permission given by the central government, DGFT said in a release.

The government imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $800 per tonne till 28 October 31 December 2023 to check runaway onion prices. In August, the government imposed a 40% duty on onion exports from 31 December 2023, increasing domestic supplies.

India’s consumer price or retail inflation fell to a 10-month low of 4.85% in March. It fell below the 5%-mark for the first time since November 2023. However, retail inflation has remained above the central bank’s target of 4%. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) changed the policy rate/repo rate to 6.5% in April, indicating that interest rate cuts will take some time.