NEW DELHI: The minimum export price of onion which is in the range of $445-565 a tonne is likely to be revised after Diwali.
"We will review the onion MEP after Diwali," National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed) MD Alok Ranjan said here on Sunday.
The arrival of kharif onion would come in full swing after Diwali, Mr Ranjan said, adding: "we will review the prices and availability after the festival of lights and then accordingly would take a decision on MEP."
However, a government official said there is likely to be a downward revision in onion MEP as the decision to hike the prices was taken when the domestic prices were much higher than the current level.
On October 31, Nafed had decided not to tinker with MEP in view of festival season as retail prices were yet to come down substantially.
The domestic prices are in control at the moment, Mr Ranjan said.
Although the retail prices of onion are still in the range of Rs 20-24 a kg, traders said rates would drop after Diwali.
Besides Nafed, there are 12 other agencies notified by the government to export onion. These agencies decide MEP of onion every month. Last month MEP was raised by $50 a tonne to $445-565 a tonne depending on the export destinations to curb the rise in domestic prices.
The government also tightened norms by making export licence mandatory for onion shipment while retaining the earlier practice of export through NOC (no objection certificate) issued by Nafed.
The price for export of onion to Pakistan is $445 a tonne while for Greece it is $565 a tonne. Singapore will get Indian onion at $495, Malaysia $470, Sri Lanka $480, Bangladesh and the UAE $500.
India's onion exports during April-September 2007 has come down by nearly 37% at 3.8 lakh tonne, as against 6.1 lakh tonne in the corresponding period last year.
Meanwhile, the onion arrival in many places have risen as the kharif season harvesting is in full swing. The arrival of onion in Bangalore surged to 14.7 lakh tonne in October 2007 from 6.9 lakh tonne in the previous month. The supply in Hubli, a major market in Karnataka, also increased to 3.1 lakh tonne from 33,520 tonne, according to Nashik-based National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation.
However, the supply is yet to pick up in the largest onion growing state of Maharashtra. The arrivals of onions in mandis in Pimpalgaon, Lasalgaon and Nashik are, in fact, down last month compared to the supply in September 2007. The arrival, however, increased at Solapur to 1.5 lakh tonne from 73,188 tonne, the foundation data showed.
In Delhi, which is the major onion consumption centre in the country, the supply increased marginally to 2.4 lakh tonne in October compared to 2.3 lakh tonne in September 2007?