Govt bans onion exports till March 31, 2024 due to price surge

India has banned export of onions till March 31, 2024 as domestic prices had increased to Rs 40/kg in wholesale trade after unseasonal rainfall had damaged the crop in Maharashtra. This move is likely to lead to a big fall in onion prices in January, said traders and farmers.

A team of the central government officials had recently surveyed fields in Maharashtra to assess the damage caused by the unseasonal rainfall. In recent weeks onions prices had increased to Rs 38-41/kg in wholesale trade for good quality onions as good export demand from Bangladesh had supported the domestic prices.

Traders said that the prices would have cooled down in another week as the arrival of the kharif onions has been increasing every day. "The arrival of late kharif and kharif onions will flood the markets in January, which can bring down the prices to as low as Rs 10-15/kg," said a Pune-based onion trader, who requested not to be identified.


December to February is the main period for onion exports. It also helps farmers as the onions harvested during this period do not have the keeping quality. Trade insiders fear that the ban on exports may lead to farmers shifting away from planting rabi onions.

Yellow Peas:

After more than five year, India has removed the import duty on yellow peas from 50% to nil. The Ministry of Finance issued the notification to this effect late on Thursday night.

However, the trade is waiting for further clarification from the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

"There is still the minimum import price of Rs 200/kg in force. Imports cannot take place unless this price restriction is removed," said Bimal Kothari, president, Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA).

The sowing of rabi chana has been trailing in Maharashtra and Gujarat, which is likely to have influenced the decision of removing import duty on yellow peas.

India used to import record quantities of yellow peas to meet the shortage in domestic chana production. It was used as a substitute for chana while making chana flour (besna) by the dal mills.

However, due to efforts of the central government, India has become self sufficient in chana. The excess stocks of chana with the central government had helped to meet the food security of the poor during the Covid years.