Onion exporters may get to export without routing it through agencies, in a move being considered by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). At present, consignments are regulated by canalysing agents or state trading agencies.
This is even when exports are under the open general license (OGL) and the government has removed any cap on the export price. Without canalysing agents, exporters could directly ship the consignment and produce the papers to DGFT, said sources.
They said onion exports till date this year have been around 800,000 tonnes. The monsoon resurgence has revived hopes of a moderate crop and at the same time increased the chances of rotting of the crop in various storage houses across the country.
“Too much onion could not be supplied in the domestic market as it will not be remunerative, cost-wise,” said an official source.
Prices have been falling in the wholesale market due to arrivals from storages since August-end. Traders and farmer, who have stored onion are in a hurry to offload the stock, fearing damage in storehouses. Incidentally, the fresh harvest of onion has also started arriving in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
On the other hand, sources said, exporters have complained that the state trading agencies designated to handle exports are engaging in procedural delays, which is increasing the transaction cost as well.
“There is an urgency to export now since prices are relatively low in the international markets and are falling in the domestic market, to,” explained an onion trader.
