Onion crisis: Govt allows exports of Krishnapuram variety of kitchen staple with certain conditions

New Delhi: The government on Thursday allowed exports of Krishnapuram onions, a variety of Andhra Pradesh, up to a quantity of 10,000 tonnes with certain conditions. The Commerce Ministry’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said that the export is allowed only through Chennai port and the outbound shipment of the commodity should be completed by 31 March this year. “Export of Krishnapuram onions, up to a quantity of 10,000 tonnes has been allowed for the period upto 31 March 2020, with immediate effect,” the DGFT said in a notification. [caption id=“attachment_4193075” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Onion traders have badly been impacted by the note ban. Image courtesy: IndiaSpend/Swagata Yadavar[/caption] Krishnapuram onions are not used in kitchen due to their size and pungency. The onions are imported by Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore. The notification said that an exporter shall have to get a certificate from horticulture department of the Andhra Pradesh government certifying the quantity of the onions for export purpose. The certificate shall be registered by the exporter at the zonal office of DGFT at Chennai. The Chennai DGFT office will also monitor the total quantity being allowed for export and issue registration certificates based on the quantity. Further, customs authorities at the Chennai port will allow export on the basis of certificate from Andhra Pradesh’s horticulture department and registration certificate from Chennai’s DGFT office. The export of other varieties of onions is banned. In September 2019, the government banned export of onion to increase availability of the commodity in the domestic market and contain rising prices. The government had also imposed stock limits on traders. Retail onion prices had skyrocketed in Delhi and other parts of the country due to supply disruption from flood-affected growing states like Maharashtra. Onion prices in the national capital are currently hovering at around Rs 60 per kg from the peak of Rs 160 per kg in December 2019. Onion production is estimated to have declined by around 25 percent in Kharif and late-Kharif season of 2019-20 crop year as compared to the previous year due to late monsoon and then excess rains in the major producing states. The ban on export of Krishnapuram onions has impacted farmers as they cannot sell the edible bulb in the domestic market. YSRCP members have raised the issue of ban in Parliament, urging the government to lift export ban on this variety of onions.