With arrivals of kharif harvest picking up and sluggish exports prospects, wholesale prices of onion have declined to Rs 1600/quintal at Lasalgaon, Maharashtra, the hub of trade, from Rs 1900/quintal prevailed just ten days back.
Bangladesh Permit Freeze and Global Rivalry
With the Bangladesh government not issuing fresh import permits for onion shipment from India, domestic supplies are likely to surpass the demand thus bringing down prices further in the coming weeks.
“Prices are likely to fall further as kharif arrivals pick up while sluggish export prospects are likely to depress prices further,” Jaydutt Holkar, director, agricultural produce market committee (APMC), Lasalgaon, Nashik, told FE. Holkar said the government must provide export subsidies to boost shipment prospects which curb further fall in domestic onion prices.
According to the price monitoring cell under the department of consumer affairs, average retail prices of onion on Friday was Rs 29.35/Kg, an increase of 11% compared to prices prevailing a month ago. However current retail prices are 26% below the Rs 40/kg prevailed a year ago.
“Onion prices are unlikely to spike further for next few months, as the kharif crop harvest reports are encouraging across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh,” Surender Budhiraja, trader and ex-president of Azadpur mandi onion traders association said. In Delhi Mandi prices are ruling around Rs 1600/quintal, a drop of Rs 300/quintal.
According to media reports, the Bangladesh government has stopped issuing new permits for onion imports from India through Hili land port, citing protecting the interest of domestic farmers. The reports stated that since December 7, Bangladesh government had approved import of 73,050 tonne of onion from India which would continue till the end this month.
An exporter said that Pakistan is exporting onion to Bangladesh at around $ 250 per tonne, while India is offering quality onion at around $ 293/tonne, thus making shipping unremunerative from here.
Record Yields Drive 55% Inflation Drop
The onion production in the 2024-25 crop year (July-June) has increased by 27% to 30.78 million tonne (MT) compared to 2023-24 due to higher area. Higher output has brought down prices sharply in the last few months.
Retail inflation in onions has been in the negative zone since May 2025. Prices declined by 55.38% in November, 2025 compared to a year ago.
The government had lifted the 20% export duty on onions imposed on September 13, 2024, from April 1, 2025. In F25, the government had imposed minimum export prices and even to the extent of banning exports for almost five months, from December 8, 2023 till May 3, 2024.
India exported 0.72 MT of onion during April-September, 2025-26, which is 80% higher than the same period FY25. Overall exports have slowed in the last couple of months because Bangladesh restricted imports between August and early December.
India has exported 1.14 MT of onion in 2024-25 while Bangladesh, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Nepal were the major export destinations.