Cabinet nod for importing onions

Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman informed the media about the Cabinet’s approval on Wednesday to the Food Ministry’s recent decision to import 1.2 lakh tonnes of onions in a bid to enhance the domestic availability of onions and check prices. Further, the government is also facilitating private imports and has also relaxed phytosanitary and fumigation norms till December, ban on exports, stock limits on traders and sale of the commodity stored as buffer, at a subsidised rate.

Retail prices of onions are continuing to rule above Rs 60/kg in the national capital and other consuming centres, despite the various measures undertaken by the government to tame the situation.