Commerce Ministry bans export of onions, bananas till April 15

Consumers get no price relief as the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) formally put a ban on the export of onions and bananas till April 15, 2024. 

This move is aimed at stabilising the rising domestic prices of both items in the month of Ramazan.

The Commerce Ministry issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) 382(1)/ 2024 on Tuesday which stated “in the exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950 (XXXIX of 1950), the federal government has directed that the following further amendments shall be made in the Export Policy Order, 2022.

The Order has been amended to include additional items in schedule-1. Following serial number 19 and its associated entries in columns (2), (3), and (4), new serial numbers and corresponding entries have been added, specifically for bananas and onions. 

The ban on these items will be lifted on April 15, 2024.

According to the SRO, new entries for bananas and onions have been added to the export ban list, following approval by the Federal Commerce and the Cabinet as required for changes in the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950.

Earlier, on March 6, the Punjab chief secretary proposed a temporary ban on the export of bananas to Iran and Afghanistan, and of onions to Gulf states, until the end of Ramazan.

However, the government’s decision to restrict the export of onions and bananas has failed to bring any price relief for consumers.

Retailers continued selling onion at Rs280-300 per kg while fruit vendors demanded Rs150 for small-sized bananas and Rs250-300 per dozen for large sized.