Karnataka farmers demand exemption to Bangalore Rose from onion export ban

Farmers growing the Bangalore Rose variety of onion in Karnataka on Saturday urged the Centre to allow them to export 10,000 tonnes of onion to prevent it from going to waste, as these is no demand for the produce in domestic market.

A farmers' delegation led by Kolar BJP Lok Sabha member S Muniswamy met Union Chemical and Fertiliser Minister D V Sadananda Gowda here and requested him to appraise the matter to concerned ministers of the Union Government immediately.

"Sadananda Gowda assured the delegation that he would bring the notice of the farmers' concerns to Union Commerce Minister and Agriculture Minister," said a statement from Sandananda Gowda's office.

The delegation said that farmers in Bengaluru Rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur have grown more than 10,000 tonnes of Bangalore Rose this year.

"This variety is being exported to Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan, as it doesn’t have much demand in the domestic market," the delegation said.

Requesting the Centre to allow to export 10,000 tonnes, the delegation said: " if we are not allowed to export the produce, then the entire quantity would go to waste."

To check rising of prices, Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on September 14, banned the export of onions, including Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram onions (similar to Bangalore Rose).

Though the Centre had banned the export of onions last year also to check price rise for a certain period, the government exempted Bangalore Rose from the ban on Karnataka Government's request.