The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Saturday issued a notification permitting the export of onions with the Minimum Export Price (MEP) to $550 per tonne and 40% export duty. A ban on export was hurting the onion farmers in the Western Maharashtra and Marathwada, the area known as the onion belt of the country. These two regions alone produce 40% of the overall onion production of the country.