The Indian government has decided to remove the 20% export duty on onions starting April 1. The Department of Revenue has issued an official notification confirming this decision.
To ensure enough onions were available in the country, the government had earlier imposed several restrictions, including a 20% export duty, a minimum export price (MEP), and even a temporary export ban from December 8, 2023, to May 3, 2024. The export duty, which has now been lifted, had been in place since September 13, 2024.
Even with these restrictions, India exported 17.17 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of onions in the financial year 2023-24 and 11.65 LMT in 2024-25. The monthly onion exports also increased from 0.72 LMT in September 2024 to 1.85 LMT in January 2025.
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This decision aims to balance the interests of farmers and consumers. With the arrival of rabi (winter) onions, wholesale and retail onion prices have started decreasing. Although mandi (wholesale) prices are still higher than last year, the overall average prices in the country have fallen by 39% in wholesale markets and by 10% in retail markets over the past month.
More onions have been arriving in key markets like Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon, causing prices to drop. As of March 21, 2025, onion prices in Lasalgaon were Rs. 1,330 per quintal, and in Pimpalgaon, they were Rs. 1,325 per quintal.
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India’s rabi onion production is expected to reach 227 LMT this year, an 18% increase from last year’s 192 LMT. Since rabi onions make up 70-75% of India’s total onion production, this increase will help stabilize prices until the kharif (monsoon) crop arrives in October-November.
This decision is a relief after India faced lower domestic production and high international onion prices since August 2023.
