India Withdraws 20 Percent Duty on Onion Exports

Staff Reporter

India is withdrawing the 20 percent duty on onion exports. This order will come into effect from April 1. Reuters has broadcast the news related to this.

It is said in the news that the Narendra Modi government has taken this decision almost six months after imposing restrictions on onion exports, including fixing a minimum price.

New Delhi says that this decision has been taken to ensure fair prices for farmers and to increase the purchasing power of consumers.

The duty on onion exports in the country has been in place for almost 10 months, starting in December 2023.

At that time, India had banned onion exports due to fears of internal shortages. According to the announcement at that time, the export ban was imposed from December 8 to March 31.

Just a week before the end of that ban, the government had announced an indefinite suspension of onion exports.

During this time, as onion prices rose worldwide, farmers in the country were unable to take advantage of it due to the export ban. They then launched protests.

Facing protests and ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the central government on May 4 last year changed the export category of the product from ‘prohibited’ to ‘free’.

At the same time, a 40 percent export duty and a minimum price of $550 per ton were fixed.

This 40 percent duty was in effect until last September. Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the export duty was reduced to 20 percent on September 13, and from April 1, that will also be removed.