Centre has allowed export of over 99,000 Metric tonnes onion to six countries Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, Bhutan, Bahrain, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. The government has also allowed export of two thousand metric tonnes of white onion cultivated specially for export markets in West Asia and some European countries. In December last year, the export of Onion was prohibited to ensure adequate domestic availability against the backdrop of estimated lower Kharif and Rabi crops in 2023-24 as compared to previous year.

Consumer Affairs Ministry said, the procurement target for onion buffer out of Rabi-2024 under the Price Stabilisation Fund has been fixed at five lakh tons this year. The Central Agencies, like National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited and NAFED are tying up local agencies to support the procurement and storage. In order to reduce the storage loss of onions, the Department of Consumer Affairs decided to enhance the quantum of stocks to be irradiated and cold stored from 1200 metric ton last year to over five thousand metric ton this year, with technical support from BARC, Mumbai.