Onion · guide
India ranks 14 of 96 exporters in the vegetable chapter, with $2.1B of chapter exports. For an Indian onion exporter, the hard parts are choosing a market that fits your volumes and getting a perishable crop to a distant port in sound condition.
| Market | Imports | Year |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $16.5B | 2024 |
| Germany | $8.8B | 2024 |
| United Kingdom | $5.2B | 2024 |
| India | $5.1B | 2024 |
| France | $4.8B | 2024 |
| Canada | $4.1B | 2024 |
| Market | Exports | Year |
|---|---|---|
| China | $12.3B | 2024 |
| Mexico | $10.7B | 2024 |
| Netherlands | $9.7B | 2024 |
| Spain | $9.4B | 2024 |
| Canada | $6.7B | 2024 |
| United States | $5.9B | 2024 |
Figures are for the whole of HS chapter 07 (edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers). Source: UN Comtrade.
India’s chapter 07 exports are $2.1B and its rank among exporters is 14 of 96. Chapter 07 is edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers, so that figure includes onions but also every other vegetable in the chapter. It shows India is a meaningful but not dominant vegetable exporter. The leaders in the chapter are China at $12.3B, Mexico at $10.7B, the Netherlands at $9.7B and Spain at $9.4B, and each of them ships to buyers who sit close by road or a short sea crossing.
The consequence for you is that competing on proximity is not an option in the big Western markets, so you win on specification, reliability and a lane where the sea distance from India is an advantage rather than a handicap. Confirm onion-only volumes in shipment records before you build a plan on chapter totals.
The largest importers in the chapter are the United States at $16.5B, Germany at $8.8B, the United Kingdom at $5.2B, India at $5.1B, France at $4.8B and Canada at $4.1B. India itself appears in that list, which is a useful reminder that the country both grows and buys vegetables, and that chapter imports include many products other than onions.
A large importer is not automatically the right first market for an onion exporter. The biggest economies on the list have well-supplied local and nearby-origin markets, strict documentation and retail buyers who expect audited suppliers. Many Indian exporters build volume first in markets reachable by a short sea route and then move to the stricter destinations once their packhouse routines are proven. Use the importer table as a map of where money flows, then use shipment records to test where onions actually arrive.
The generic sequence is the same for any exporter, and details should be checked with the relevant Indian authorities and export promotion bodies. Because onions are a fresh agricultural product, the food and plant-health side of registration matters as much as the commercial side.
Onions are a staple food, and governments in producing countries sometimes adjust export conditions for staples in response to domestic supply. This guide does not state what is in force now. Before quoting a forward price or accepting a deposit, confirm with the trade authority whether any restriction, licence, minimum export value or duty currently applies to onions, and write the contract so that a change in policy between signing and shipment is dealt with, for example by a clear force-majeure or cancellation clause.
An exporter who signs a fixed forward contract without checking this can end up unable to ship and liable to the buyer. It is a risk specific to staple vegetables and worth a phone call.
Indian onions often travel far, and on a long transit the difference between a sound lot and a rotten one is decided in the shed. Cure the bulbs until the necks are dry and the outer skins are papery, remove sprouted, soft and double bulbs, grade by diameter, and keep the bags ventilated. Bulbs harvested wet or bagged before curing sweat inside the container and spoil from the neck.
Choose bag and pallet arrangements that let air pass through the load, and confirm with the forwarder whether a ventilated dry container or a temperature-controlled one suits the destination and the transit time. Fresh onions and garlic have different handling needs, and if a buyer orders both, ask the forwarder whether they can share a container.
Price from the farm gate upward: purchase cost, curing loss, grading rejects, bags, inland haulage to the port, terminal charges and the ocean leg. Free on board offers a clean handover at the Indian port and leaves the freight to the buyer, which is the simplest way to sell to a new importer. Cost, insurance and freight wins orders from buyers who want one delivered figure, but it puts freight rate changes and delay risk on you.
Shrinkage is the hidden line. A bag that weighs the right amount at the packhouse can lose weight before it is discharged, so agree in the contract whether weight is final at loading or at destination and how a shortfall is treated.
Once you have two or three candidate markets, turn to customs shipment records for the onion code, which for fresh or chilled onions and shallots is 070310 within heading 0703. The records list consignees, quantities, declared values and origin countries, so you can see which importers already buy from Asia, how large a typical lot is, and which competing origins they use. Approach the importers with a specification sheet, a photograph of the packed goods and your certificate arrangements, and consider listing the same offer on the free marketplace on this site.
India ranks 14 of 96 exporters in chapter 07, edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers, with $2.1B of chapter exports. The figure covers all vegetables in the chapter, not onions alone.
In chapter 07 the largest importers are the United States at $16.5B, Germany at $8.8B, the United Kingdom at $5.2B, India at $5.1B, France at $4.8B and Canada at $4.1B. Check onion-specific shipment records before targeting one.
Do not assume so. Staple vegetables can be subject to changing export conditions, so confirm with the trade authority whether any restriction, licence or duty applies at the time of your contract, and write a clause covering policy changes.
Cure the bulbs until the necks are dry, remove damaged and sprouted ones, keep the packing ventilated and load promptly. Ask your forwarder whether a ventilated or temperature-controlled container suits the transit time.
Fresh or chilled onions and shallots are classified under 070310. Garlic is 070320 and leeks and other alliaceous vegetables are 070390. The exporting country adds its own national digits for its shipping bill.
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