India has extended the ban on the exports of onion till March next year with a view to increasing availability in domestic markets and to keep prices in check, according to a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade yesterday. 

The announcement comes three weeks ahead of the expiry of deadline of export restriction on the popular vegetable.  

India on October 28 imposed a minimum export price of $800 per tonne for onions -- much higher than the prices at which importers were buying — to curb export and increase domestic availability until December 31 this year. 

Prices of the onion have risen in Dhaka as Bangladesh meets a portion of its requirement through import, mainly from India. 

In early October, the bulb was sold below Tk 100 each kilogram, according to the market prices data compiled by the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh. Price of the bulb  is as much as Tk 135 each kilogram at retail in Dhaka. 

In August this year, the neighbouring country had imposed 40 percent duty on the export of onions to tame escalating prices in its domestic market. 

In its latest notification, the DGFT said the measure will take effect from December 8, 2023, and be in vogue till March 31, 2024. 

The DGFT said the notification will, however, not be applicable to exports for which the loading has already commenced.  

The export curb will not be applicable for onions for which shipping are filed and the vessels have already berthed, arrived and anchored in Indian ports for loading of the product, and to cases where the consignments of onions have already been handed over to the customs office, according to the notification. 

It also said onion export will be allowed through the permission of the Indian government to other countries based on the request of their governments.