Asia suffers due to onion ban from India

After India, the world’s biggest seller of onions, banned exports following delayed harvests caused by extended monsoon downpours, buyers across the region are bewildered. Now countries such as Bangladesh have no choice but to turn to the likes of Myanmar, Egypt, Turkey and China to increase supplies in a bid to bring down souring onion prices, government officials and traders said.

India exported 2.2 million tonnes of fresh onions in the 2018/19 fiscal year ended March 31, according to APEDA. This accounted for more than half of all imports by Asian countries. What ensured the quality of these products was the shorter shipment times than from rival exporters like China or Egypt, which play a crucial role in preserving the taste of the perishable commodity.