Farmers Movement Archive

Maharashtra BJP leaders want onion export ban lifted: Union minister

BJP MPs and party’s leaders in Maharashtra have demanded that the ban on onion export be lifted, Union mnister of State for Electronics and IT Sanjay Dhotre said here on Monday.“In Maharashtra, all our party leaders and all our party MPs have demanded that the (onion) export ban be lifted,” the BJP leader told reporters here.“Our government will surely think over this (demand),” Dhotre said.The central government had last month announced the ban on the export of all varieties of onions with immediate effect, a move aimed at increasing availability and checking price of the commodity in the domestic market.“The export of all varieties of onions... is prohibited with immediate effect,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) had said in a notification.The DGFT, an arm of the commerce ministry, deals with exports and imports-related issues.The Maharashtra State Onion Growers’ Association (MSGAA) has demanded immediate resumption of exports.Before the ban was announced, prices of the kitchen bulb in Lasalgaon, the country’s biggest onion market in Maharashtra, had doubled to Rs 3,000 per quintal since March.Such restrictions should not be imposed as it is important to have consistency in the import-export agreement, Dhotre said, addressing media on the recently-passed farm bills.The farm bills are a historic step taken by the Narendra Modi government for the prosperity of farmers, the minister said.The Modi government aims to empower and protect farmers and to ensure fair prices by increasing agricultural production and income, he said.

Hindustan Times

05-10-2020

India