New Delhi: 25,000 tonnes of onions will be imported to the country before next Diwali to fill the shortage of onions. Domestic traders have so far imported 4,000 tonnes of onions, while another 25,000 tonnes of onions are expected to arrive before Diwali. Union Minister for Khauti Affairs Piyush Goyal gave the information. Onions are imported from Egypt, Afghanistan and Turkey. In addition, 30,000 tonnes of potatoes imported from Bhutan will arrive in India in the next few days. The government plans to import about one million tonnes of potatoes, he said. The move is aimed at increasing the availability of both onions and potatoes. On the other hand, in the wake of rising onion prices in the country, the central government has imposed restrictions on onion seed exports. Exports of onion seeds are banned immediately. Earlier, onion seed exports were in a restricted category. The Director General of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Thursday banning the export of onion seeds. In the 2019-20 fiscal, $ 3.5 million worth of onion seeds were exported from India, while between April and August of the current fiscal year, $ 0.56 million worth of onion seeds were exported. Iran, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates import the most onions from India.
