NEW DELHI: Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday announced that the government has decided to reduce export duty on onions by 20%, effective from April1, to ensure that farmers receive a remunerative price.
In 2023, a 40% duty was levied on onions to discourage farmers from exporting, as increased domestic demand pushed up the retail price. “Now the price of onions started falling and farmers started getting less price, so the government decided to reduce the export duty on onions from 40% to 20%,” Chouhan said in a statement.
“Farmers deserve remunerative prices for onions in global markets,” he said.
To ensure domestic availability, the government took measures to check exports through duty, minimum export price (MEP), and even export prohibition for almost five months, from December 8, 2023 to May 2024. Despite restrictions, exports have increased in the past two years. Data shows that onion exports during 2023-24 were 17.17 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) and 11.65 LMT in 2024-25 (until March 18.
Experts say the government anticipated higher Rabi onion production which may lead to a crash in prices, so the government has taken precautionary measures to support farmers and reduce export duty.
The agriculture ministry data showed that Rabi onion production is estimated at over 227 LMT, an increase of 18% from last year’s 192 LMT. The arrival of onions in Asia’s largest onion markets, Lasalgoan and Pimpalgaon in Maharashtra, increased which activated the downward trend of prices.