India imposes 40% duty on onion exports

India today announced the imposition of 40 percent duty on the export of onions till December 31, in a move to tame escalating prices in the domestic market.

The statement came in an Indian finance ministry notification issued today, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Bangladesh is one of the countries that import onions from India to meet the domestic demand.

The export duty comes amid reports that onion prices in India are likely to rise in September, sources at the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Commerce said.

Quoting traders, Indian media reports recently suggested that prices of quality onions used by household consumers are set to nearly double to 55-60 rupees a kg by September.

Despite an ample stock of onions in the country, a high proportion of bad quality onions due to a prolonged period of severe heat in March-April this year has made good quality onions expensive, they said.

India is already battling high prices of some other vegetables in the domestic market including tomato, whose price had soared to 300 rupees per kg, prompting the government's intervention to bring down the prices with supply from buffer stocks.

India's annual retail inflation rose sharply to a 15-month high of 7.44 percent in July from 4.87 percent the previous month and a sharp jump in vegetable and cereal prices contributed to this.

The action came in the backdrop of the government using trade-related measures to combat inflation.

The government has already placed restrictions on the export of wheat and rice and slashed import duty on edible oils.