New Delhi, Aug 7 : A total quantity of 2.60 lakh tons of onion have been exported during the first four months of the current financial year (2024-25) till July 31, the Parliament was told on Wednesday.

The government has lifted the onion export prohibition from May 4 and has allowed exports with a minimum export price (MEP) of $550 per MT and an export duty of 40 per cent.

The net export value earned by India from onion exports for each of the last three years was Rs 3,326.99 crore in 2021-22, Rs 4,525.91 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 3,513.22 crore in 2023-24, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution B.L. Verma told the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question.

Further, the government has procured 4.68 lakh tons, majorly from Maharashtra, through NCCF and NAFED for the price stabilisation buffer in the current financial year, he added.

In comparison with last year (2023), the price realisation by onion farmers has been much higher in the current year, the Minister added.

The average monthly mandi modal prices of onion in Maharashtra between April and July 2024 were in the range of Rs 1,230 to Rs 2,578 per quintal as against Rs 693 to Rs 1,205 per quintal for the corresponding period last year. The average procurement price of onion for the buffer in the current year was Rs 2,833 per quintal which is 64 per cent higher than the procurement price of Rs 1,724 per quintal last year, the minister said.

The top five countries to which India exported onion in the current financial year are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the UAE, and Nepal. Maharashtra is the highest onion-producing state in the country with an output of 86.02 lakh tons in 2023-24, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 41.66 lakh tons in the second spot and Gujarat in the third position with 20.57 lakh tons. Karnataka and Rajasthan are the two other states in the top 5 list of onion producers with 16.38 lakh tons and 16.31 lakh tons, respectively.

/IANS