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Raipur. There is relief news for the general public. Onion prices will come down below Rs 40 per kg from the month of January. According to Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh, the government expects onion prices to come down from the current average price of Rs 57.02 per kg to below Rs 40 per kg by January. The government had last week banned the export of onion till March next year after the retail selling price of onion in the national capital Delhi crossed Rs 80 per kg and the prices in the mandis remained around Rs 60 per kg.
When asked when onion prices are expected to come below Rs 40 per kg? Rohit Singh said, “Very soon…January.” Rohit Singh said that someone has said that it (price) will touch Rs 100 per kg. We said that it will never cross Rs 60 per kg. The all India average stood at Rs 57.02 per kg this morning and will not cross Rs 60 per kg. He said that the export ban will not have any impact on the farmers. The Secretary said, “They (traders who were taking advantage of different prices) will suffer losses, but who will benefit from this… they are Indian consumers.” Onion inflation in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been in double digits since July, reaching a four-year high of 42.1 percent in October. In this financial year, 9.75 lakh tonnes of onion was exported from the country between April 1 and August 4. The top three importing countries in terms of value are Bangladesh, Malaysia and United Arab Emirates.
The government has taken several steps to control prices. A minimum export price (MEP) of US $ 800 per tonne has been imposed on onion exports from October 28 to December 31 this year. Also, in August, India had imposed 40 percent export duty on onion till December 31.
