(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM – 24th Mar, 2025) NEW DELHI, 24th March, 2025 (WAM) – India has “completely abolished” export duty on onions, the Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, announced today.
The total elimination of export duty will bring down onion prices in the Gulf states, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. These constitute the main export destinations for Indian onions.
India is the world’s largest exporter of onions, an essential ingredient in cooking staple foods in South and East Asia as well as in the Gulf.
Other major global exporters of onions are Pakistan, China and Egypt.
“The removal of export duty on Indian onions will enable farmers to better access global markets duty-free, securing better and more remunerative prices for their produce,” the minister said in a statement.
The standard export duty on Indian onions was 40 percent, but a few months ago it was reduced to 20 percent.
Two years ago, India, a major exporter of a wide variety of staple food items, hiked export duties on several agricultural products to rein in retail domestic inflation.
These are now being reviewed and progressively revised downwards, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare here.
