India’s Onion Export Ban Majorly Impacts Asian Buyers

New Delhi, Dec 21 (KNN) The prices of onion has increased for Asian buyers because of India's ban on the export of the vegetable, reported Reuters. 

India banned shipments of onions on December 8 after the world’s biggest exporter saw twofold increase of domestic prices in three months following a drop in production. 

Now retail shoppers from Kathmandu to Colombo are struggling with high prices, since traditional Asian buyers, such as Bangladesh, Malaysia and Nepal, and even the United Arab Emirates, rely on imports from India to bridge domestic gaps, reported Reuters. 

From the belacan shrimp paste of Malaysia and Bangladeshi biryani to chicken chillies in Nepal or Sri Lankan fish curry, Asian consumers have built up a serious dependence on Indian supplies of onions to lend spice to their favourite dishes.

Traders estimate that India accounts for more than half of all imports of onions by Asian countries. Its shorter shipment times against those from rival exporters such as China or Egypt, are key to preserving the taste of the perishable commodity.

India exported a record 2.5 million metric tons of onions in the financial year that ended on March 31, with 671,125 tons going to neighbouring Bangladesh, its biggest buyer of the vegetable.

To overcome the shortage, Bangladesh is trying to source more from China, Egypt and Turkey, said commerce ministry official Tapan Kanti Ghosh.

Even worse is the situation in landlocked Nepal, which imports most of its onions.

Nepal is considering imports from China and may ask India to make an exception and allow exports, said ministry spokesperson Gajendra Kumar Thakur.

(KNN Bureau)