The government today decided to keep the minimum export price (MEP) for onion unchanged at $200 a tonne for shipments in July as the domestic prices are stable, a senior official at co-operative firm Nafed said.
"Onion prices are stable in the retail market at Rs 12-14 per kg and rates are expected to ease further next month as availability would improve. Hence, we decided to keep the MEP unchanged at 200 dollars per tonne," the official said.
The official further said despite exports being hit by Pakistani supply to the Gulf market, Nafed decided against reducing the MEP as a cut may lead to a rise in domestic prices.
Food inflation, which is hovering around 16 per cent, is a major cause of concern for the government.
In the 2009-10 fiscal, the country's onion exports rose marginally to 18.14 lakh tonnes, against 17.83 lakh tonnes in the previous year, data showed.
India exports onions to Bangladesh, the Middle East, Singapore and Malaysia. The country's onion production is expected to be a record 95 lakh tonnes in 2009-10, against 85 lakh tonnes last year.
