Onion Export India: Indian onions are in huge demand, both in India and abroad thanks to their strong pungent flavour. In fact, more than 15 lakh metric tonnes of onions worth ₹2,826.50 crores were exported during the year 2020-21. In our last article, we got an in-depth view of the onion agri value chain in India from Navdeep Vyas, AVP of Operations at Bijak. Today, he takes us through the nitty-gritties of the Indian onion export business.
Indian onions are popular because of their strong pungent flavour. Indian onions are usually made up of kharif and rabi onions. Kharif onions are planted between July to August and harvested between October to December. Rabi onions on the other hand are planted between December to January and harvested from March to April, the summer months. About 60% of onion production happens during rabi season and these onions are stored to meet domestic as well as export demand till the arrival of the kharif onion crop. As a general rule, rabi onions store well and are preferred for exports. This is because rabi onions tend to be dry and therefore can withstand transportation via rail, road or freight shipping.
Export quality onions are pretty different from what you may get at the local super market,” says Navdeep. “For example, you may have noticed small bruises on your locally purchased onions. But export quality onions will not have these. They are usually graded on size. They can’t be less than 65 mm in diameter. This is because bigger onions factor in volume efficiency and shrinkage. Volume efficiency stands for the number of onions that can be packed into a container, the average container being 20 feet long and with a capacity to hold 20 tons. When it comes to shrinkage, all onions shrink at the time of transportation. Therefore the bigger the onion, the better its chances of arriving in a good state.
