The government of India has withdrawn the 20 percent duty on onion exports, effective from April 1.
A notification to this effect was issued on Saturday by the Department of Revenue, following a communication from the Department of Consumer Affairs, India.
To ensure domestic availability, the government had taken measures to curb exports by imposing duty, setting a minimum export price (MEP), and even implementing an export prohibition for almost five months, from December 8, 2023, till May 3, 2024.
The export duty of 20 percent, which now stands removed, had been in place since September 13, 2024, according to the Indian Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
Despite export restrictions, the total onion export during the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 was 17.17 lakh metric tons (LMT), and for FY 2024-25 (till March 18), it was 11.65 LMT.
The monthly onion export quantity increased from 0.72 LMT in September 2024 to 1.85 LMT in January 2025.
The decision stands as another testament to the government’s commitment to ensuring remunerative prices for farmers while maintaining onion affordability for consumers at this crucial juncture when both mandi and retail prices have softened following the expected arrival of rabi crops in good quantities, said the Ministry.
Even though current mandi prices are above the levels recorded during the corresponding period of previous years, a decline of 39 percent has been observed in the all-India weighted average modal prices.
Similarly, the all-India average retail prices recorded a decline of 10 percent over the past month.
Onion arrivals in the benchmark markets of Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon have increased this month, driving prices downward.
The modal prices in Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon on March 21 were Rs. 1,330 per quintal and Rs. 1,325 per quintal, respectively.
According to estimates by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, rabi production this year is projected at 227 LMT, which is over 18 percent higher than last year's 192 LMT.
The rabi onion, which accounts for 70-75 percent of India’s total onion production, is crucial for overall availability and price stability until the arrival of the kharif crop from October/November onward.
The estimated higher production this season is expected to further ease market prices in the coming months.
The emerging production and price scenario comes as a welcome breather for the country, which had to grapple with the twin challenges of lower domestic production and high international prices since August 2023.
Source: UNB
Bd-pratidin English/FNC
