Govt should allow export of 'Bangalore Rose' onions: Tejasvi Surya
Sep 17, 2020
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 17 : BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Thursday said that the government should allow the export of the 'Bangalore Rose' variety of onions as there is no local market for it.
"Decision to ban onion export, to regulate its prices in the domestic market is welcome. However, there's a variety -- 'Bangalore Rose' -- grown in and around Bengaluru, including Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, primarily for export. It has no domestic market," the BJP MP told ANI.
"Farmers growing this variety of onion are in trouble as ban includes that variety also. Therefore, I wrote to Minister for Commerce, asking him to exempt this particular variety of onions from a ban so that farmers in Karnataka can benefit and continue the export business," he added.
Earlier on September 15, the government banned the export of all varieties of onions except those cut, sliced, or broken in powder form, with immediate effect.
The move was apparently aimed at increasing domestic supply and reducing prices which have risen in the recent past to Rs 35 to 40 in Delhi.
In a notification, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry stated, "In exercise of the power conferred by Section 3 of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, as amended, read with para 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, the Central Government hereby makes the following amendment in the Export policy of the onions. For the item description at Serial Number 51 and 52 of Chapter 7 of Schedule 2 of ITC (HS) Classification of Export and Import Items, with immediate effect."
The ban includes Bangalore rose onions and Krishnapuram onions.
"The export of all varieties of onions as described is prohibited, with immediate effect. The provisions under Transitional Arrangement (Para 1.05 of the FTP 2015-20) shall not be applicable under this notification," the notification read.
