The government on Saturday imposed an export duty of 40% on onions with immediate effect to check price rise and improve supplies in the domestic market. Earlier, ET reported that prices of quality onions used by household consumers are set to nearly double to Rs 55-60 per kg by September, quoting traders. Despite ample stock of onions in the country, a high proportion of bad quality onions due to a prolonged period of excessive summer heat this year has made good quality onions expensive, they said. Besides the large proportion of bad quality onions, high inflation in other vegetables is also responsible for propelling onion prices upwards, said traders. Onion and potato prices also registered sequential upticks, the Reserve Bank of India said in its August bulletin said.

Source: Economic Times August 19, 2023 18:34 UTC