India’s onion exports in June are estimated to have plunged by more than 50 percent as the minimum export price of $550 per tonne and an export duty of 40 percent combined to make Indian onions more expensive than the competition, exporters said.
Exporters and growers have asked the central government to remove the duties, assuring that the increased sowing driven by good rainfall and a strong buffer stock of onions with the central government can keep the domestic prices under control even if exports increase. The Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the government has lifted the onion export prohibition from May 4, 2024, and set the minimum export price at (MEP) $550 per MT and an export duty of 40 percent.
Till July 31, 2024, a total quantity of 2.60 lakh tons of onion had been exported in the current financial year 2024-25. India exported 17.17 lakh tonnes of onions in the 2023-24 fiscal year. During a recent visit of the central government officials to the big wholesale onion markets in Nashik, Pune and Karnataka, traders and farmers sought the removal of export duty on the bulb.
The Horticulture Produce Exporters Association (HEPA) too has written a letter to the Centre requesting the withdrawal of the MEP and charging a fixed duty of $100 per tonne instead of the 40 percent duty at present. “Indian onion is more expensive than our competitors by about $200/tonnes due to the MEP and the export duties,” said Ajit Shah, former president, HEPA.