Onion prices drop as minimum export price reduces by $150/tonne

Directorate General of Foreign Trade, in a notification, said the rate will remain in force till the 20th of next month. The government reduced the MEP as onion prices have now started moderating.

An MEP is the floor price below which exports are not allowed. MEP of onions was scrapped in December 2015 but brought back in November 2017to check rising prices of onions.

As per the Price Monitoring Cell of the Department of Consumer Affairs, retail onion prices are ruling at about Rs 40 per kilogram in most cities. However, the key vegetable ingredient was selling at Rs 51 in Delhi and Rs 46 in Delhi.

According agriculture ministry's data, onion production in that country is estimated to decline by 4.5 percent to 2.14 crore tonnes in the 2017-18 crop year (July to June) as against 2.24 crore tonnes last year, mainly due to less rains during the sowing period in key growing states including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, show.