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Informist, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI – Indian onion prices extended their rebound Friday as exports to Bangladesh gathered pace, though traders say procedural bottlenecks have capped volumes far below the total quantity of imports allowed by the neighbouring country of 1,500 tonnes a day.

 

Bangladesh opened its import window Saturday, allowing 50 permits a day with a cap of 30 tonnes each. Exporters say the quota design, intended to distribute access among several traders, has slowed shipments.

 

"India is likely to have exported only about 3,000–3,500 tonnes since Bangladesh opened imports," said Vikas Singh, vice-president of the Horticulture Produce Exporters Association. "The initial lag was because of the small 30-tonne quota for each importer. Earlier, one buyer alone would take 1,500 tonnes. Now that same volume has to be divided among 50 importers, which is causing logistical issues."

 

Despite the constraints, domestic prices have reacted to an extent. New-season onion prices in Maharashtra rose to around INR 2,800 for 100 kg Friday, trade sources said, up INR 500–INR 600 from Saturday, just before Bangladesh issued the import permits. Prices were around INR 2,200 per 100 kg Saturday.

 

The improved sentiment comes after months of depressed rates triggered by a large surplus and sluggish exports. Traders say demand from Bangladesh, India's biggest traditional buyer of onions, remains strong, but logistics and licensing rules continue to restrain volumes.

 

"We could have exported the entire 7,500 tonnes allotted by now under normal bulk-buying conditions," Singh said. "But we see conditions improving from next week. Bangladesh is expected to continue imports till Jan. 8, so there is still time to utilise the entire allotted quota and supply higher shipments."

 

The export opportunity comes even as Bangladesh expands its onion acreage, driven by availability of high-yielding Indian seed varieties and greater adoption by local farmers. Once heavily dependent on onion imports from India for almost 35% of its consumption, Bangladesh has now bridged much of that gap through higher productivity and improved post-harvest handling, Singh said.

 

Exporters say the shift began when India banned exports of the bulb to contain domestic prices in 2019, 2020, and again in 2023. Each time India restricted exports, prices in Bangladesh spiked. In response, Dhaka pushed farmers to cultivate more onions. Bangladesh also diversified its import basket and began sourcing onions from China, Pakistan, and Myanmar, Bharat Dighole, president of the Maharashtra State Onion Growers Association, said.

 

Meanwhile, the limited import window--designed for small, controlled volumes--has succeeded in moderating onion prices in Bangladesh without flooding the market with cheaper imports. As per reports in the local media, onion prices fell to 120 taka per kg from 150 taka per kg within four days. This, Dighole said, will prompt the authorities in Dhaka to maintain a small-volume system instead of opening full-scale buying.

 

The current exports are unlikely to have a major impact on India's massive supply overhang unless Bangladesh raises the daily import cap. India's onion production rose to an estimated 30.7 million tonnes in the crop year 2024–25 (Jul–Jun). Exports in the financial year 2024–25 (Apr–Mar), however, plunged to around 1.2 million tonnes, less than half the 2.5 million tonnes shipped in FY24 after the previous year's export ban and months of restrictive duties.

 

For now, the market is responding to even a marginal export window. "The price lift is visible, and if this sustains, it could improve rabi planting decisions," Singh said.

 

Bangladesh, which historically accounted for over a third of India's onion exports, has seen domestic prices remain high, prompting the caretaker government in the country to reopen imports despite rising local arrivals expected later in the month. Exports from India are now expected to rise modestly in the coming days as Bangladeshi importers adjust to the multi-permit process.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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