Ahead of Eid, India relaxes ban to export 50,000 tonnes of onions to Bangladesh
Mint. India imposed a ban on onion exports last December amid concerns over domestic production shortfall caused by irregular rainfall, pushing prices up. The ban is in place until the end of the ongoing financial year.
The decision was taken after the ministry of external affairs (MEA) apprised that Bangladesh requested through Indian embassies for exemption from India’s prevailing prohibition on the export of food items, including onion and sugar, according to the second official who did not want to be named. While the MEA recommended that an exemption to export 20,000 tonnes of onions and 50,000 tonnes of sugar may be granted for Bangladesh, the government did not permit exports of sugar amid domestic supply concerns. However, on Thursday, the Centre decided to supply 50,000 tonnes of onions given Ramadan is scheduled between 10 March and 8 April, the official informed.
Ramadan is a month-long religious festival that culminates in the important holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr, which is also celebrated in Bangladesh. Demand for onions typically rises during Ramadan. Citizens of Bangladesh consume about 500,000 tonnes of onions with numerous dishes for Iftar.
The annual demand for onion in Bangladesh is about 2.5 million tonnes (mt). The country produces around 2.3-2.4 mt and the rest is imported. It imported 723,643 tonnes of onion from India alone during April-December of FY24.
India in FY23 supplied a total of 671,125 tonnes of the kitchen staple to Bangladesh. India, the second-largest onion grower worldwide, exported nearly 1.7 mt of the horticulture crop to the world in FY24 until the ban was imposed in December and 2.5 mt of onion in FY23, data from the consumer affairs ministry showed. The top importers of Indian onion
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