Mumbai, September 14: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday hailed the Centre’s decision to lift export curbs on onions and Basmati rice and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of all onion farmers of Maharashtra. Similarly, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar welcomed the Centre’s decision to remove $500 per metric tonnes Minimum Export Price (MEP) for onions with immediate effect and to relax the condition of $950 per tonne MEP for issuing registration-cum-allocation certificate for Basmati rice.
Ajit Pawar has also hailed the Centre’s decision to increase import duty on edible oil and its move to bring soybean at the MSP rates. “On behalf of all the onion farmers of Maharashtra, I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the decision to remove the MEP on onion exports. Although the export ban on onions had been lifted, the MEP was imposed. Due to this, the farmers had to face difficulties. I had also requested the Centre to remove the MEP. The decision to remove the MEP of $550 per tonne has come as a relief to thousands of onion growers in Maharashtra and will significantly increase onion exports and increase farmers' income,” said the Chief Minister in his post on X. Government Removes Floor Price on Basmati Rice, Farmers To Benefit.
On the other hand, Ajit Pawar said that the Centre’s move has given a big relief to onion, Basmati rice and soyb