India’s humble onion has gone places in past decade — from Middle East to Europe

More Indian onions have found space in Middle East and Europe

India’s diversification of the export basket is not limited to mobile phones and electronics but has extended to onions and shallots as well over the past decade.

A Moneycontrol analysis shows that until 2024, when government’s price control measures came into play, share of the Middle East and Europe in India’s exports was growing, while that of South Asia and Southeast Asia declined.

On March 22, the government removed the 20 percent export duty on onions, which it had imposed in September to curb rising prices. The duty was put in place after measures such as a ban on exports and minimum export price failed to check onion prices. Onions have left several Indian politicians in tears. High onion prices even brought down the government in Delhi in 1998.

“To ensure domestic availability, the government had taken measures to check export by means of duty, minimum export price (MEP) and even to the extent of export prohibition for almost five months, from December 8, 2023, till May 3, 2024. The export duty of 20 percent, which now stands removed, has been in place from September 13, 2024,” the consumer affairs ministry said in a release.

Middle East accounted for 22.71 percent of India’s onion exports in 2023, up from 19.12 percent in 2013. Europe’s share increased to 1 percent from 0.7 percent a decade ago.

India exported 2.53 billion onions and shallots in 2023, up from 2.13 billion the year before. The country’s exports were down 65 percent in 2024 to 0.9 billion. India exported $642 million worth of onions in 2023.

The coronavirus outbreak dealt a blow to India’s export of the kitchen staple, as trade has become more South Asia-centric.

In 2019, the Middle East was close to catching up with South Asia to become the largest onion importer. The Middle Eastern nations led by the United Arab Emirates had gained a 31.6 percent share in India’s exports, while that of South Asia declined to 36.7 percent from 49.3 percent in 2013.

Europe, led by the UK, Greece, Italy and Spain, accounted for a 2.2 percent share of exports of onions and shallots.

In 2023, the UAE pipped Bangladesh, Malaysia and Sri Lanka to become the top importer of Indian onions.

India’s onion inflation hit 30 percent in February compared with 16 percent in the previous month. Onion inflation has averaged 39 percent in FY25 (till February).