The Indian government has decided to give an exemption for Bangladesh, as well as five other countries, from its ban export of onions, up to a certain amount.  This permission has been given on the recommendation of the Ministry of External Affairs of the country. Read more: Onion, sugar likely to be imported from India before Ramadan: State Minister Along with Bangladesh, India has also allowed the export of onions to Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bahrain, and Mauritius. However, New Delhi has not yet taken any decision on the complete withdrawal of the ban imposed on onion exports. On Monday (February 19), the Indian newspaper Economic Times reported that India officially allowed the export of onions to Bangladesh and some other countries. An Indian official related to this issue said that the export of onions in limited quantities to these countries has been allowed for bilateral purposes. However, the official could not tell the exact amount of onion that has been allowed to be exported. Read more: Onion price steeper by Tk50 per kg in 3 weeks

The Revenue Department of the Indian Finance Ministry has imposed a 40 percent duty on onion exports to Bangladesh effective today (August 20, 2023), causing a hike in the price of the item mainly used as spice in local markets. An Indian gazette notification signed by Amreeta Titus, deputy secretary of the Revenue Department under the Finance Ministry, said the duty will remain effective till December 31 this year. India imposed the duty for the first time. Importers of Hili Land Port said earlier they paid no tax for importing onions from India. Due to the 40 percent duty, an extra Tk 10 per kg will have to be counted. Read: Indian onions start reaching Satkhira, leading to prices easing down On the other hand, each kg of onion is being sold at Tk 50 since this morning. Per kg of onion was being sold at Tk 39-47 just a day back. They said Sunday is a weekly holiday in India and import of onion won’t be possible until the newly imposed duty is not paid, urging the Bangladesh government to look for alternative markets to import the item from. Read: Indian onions start arriving through land ports as import resumes Indian exporters said onion prices are soaring in the country and the government has imposed the duty to discourage exports. They suspected that the prices may be hiked next month as substantial amounts of onions rotted due to excessive heat. Read more: Govt to allow onion import from Monday: Agriculture Ministry

Amid the skyrocketing onion prices in the local market, consignments of Indian variety of the essential kitchen item have finally started entering Bangladesh through different land ports on Saturday.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Wednesday said that there is no need to panic over onion price as there is adequate stock.

The government has decided to import onion from multiple sources to ensure enough supply of the popular cooking ingredient in the local markets.