KATHMANDU, Sept 15: The decision of Indian government to impose a ban on export of all varieties of onion is likely to hit local consumers hard as the price of onion has already seen a steady rise in the domestic market. 

Issuing a public notice on Monday, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India prohibited the export of all varieties of onion. According to the Indian media, the authority took the decision after the prices of this agriculture produce trebled to INR 30 per kg in the local market within a month after excessive rainfall heavily damaged crops in most of the southern states of the country. 

With short supply of Indian onion, prices of this produce in the local market is likely to witness a sharp rise in the coming days as festive season is just around the corner.. According to the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market Development Board, the wholesale price of the product in Kalimati market has reached Rs 75 per kg from Rs 42 per kg in the past two weeks alone.

The price of onion takes a leap in the domestic market when the supply from India is disrupted. The retail price of this vegetable product spiked as high as Rs 230 per kg due to the same reason in  November last year.  

Onion is the basic kitchen commodity for the household when it comes to cooking the delicacies. As it has a low domestic production, Nepal relies heavily on the imported onions to fulfill the demand. 

The records of the Department of Customs shows that Nepal imported dried onion worth Rs 329.41 million during mid-July to mid August this year. In the last fiscal year, the import expense stood at Rs 1.24 billion. Of the total import, 79% was imported from the southern neighbor and remaining 21 percent import was made from China.

 
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