As customers scramble to find onions in the markets following a sweeping export ban by India, the Nepal government has decided to request India to send the major kitchen ingredient.

“As per the request by onion traders, we have decided to request the Indian government to send onion to Nepal. We will send the request soon,” said an official in the Industry Ministry.

On December 8, after wheat, rice and sugar, India added dry onions to its list of food staples slapped with sweeping export restrictions.

The move aimed at containing domestic prices ahead of the national election next year will greatly affect Nepal.

Nepal gets almost all of its onion requirement from the southern neighbour, and any ripple there is amplified when it reaches the Nepali bazars.

As per the Indian government directive, the export of onions will also be allowed based on permission granted by the government of India to other countries based on the request of their governments.

Nepali government officials say that they are also discussing with onion importers to source the spice from other countries too.

Importing large quantities of onion from other countries, other than India, is not possible because it is a perishable commodity, said the government officials. “As no government bodies import onions, our role is to facilitate the importers,” said the officials.

“However, if it takes time to get the approval from the Indian government, we have an option to import from third countries, including China.”

As soon as India slapped a sweeping ban on onion export, onion prices reached Rs200 per kg in retail. The price, currently, is hovering at Rs150 to Rs160 per kg in retail.

Traders say that the ban, however, has increased smuggling through the porous border points.

On Sunday, police in Kavrepalanchok district seized more than 400 sacks of onions from Kavre Bhanjyang of Dhulikhel Municipality.

The police seized seven vehicles carrying 16 tonnes of onion that were illegally imported using an old invoice, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Shrestha, spokesperson at the District Police Office Kavre.

The seized onion has been sent to the Department of Revenue Investigation.

The officials at the Kalimati fruits and vegetables market said that traders are illegally importing onions in the border areas. “But it is in small quantities.”

As onions imported from China are not much in demand in the Nepali market because of their taste, Nepali consumers prefer Indian onions and they are willing to pay any cost for it, traders said.

“We are waiting for the government's response to ease the supply system,” said Mohan Baniya, president of the Potato-Onion Import-Export and Wholesaler Association.

“If the issue is not sorted out in time, the shortage may cripple,” he said.

The association met the director general of the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection a week ago and requested to ease the supply through the negotiation.

“We have been assured that the supply system will be eased,” said Baniya.

According to the traders, a few tonnes of Chinese onion may arrive in the market in a few days.

Ananda Raj Pokharel, director of the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection, said there have been no concrete efforts to import onions. “But the onion traders have requested us that the spice can be imported from China or Pakistan or other countries.”

Though there is an export ban, the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market received 20 tonnes of onion on Sunday.

“We are not sure where the onions are coming from,” said Binay Shrestha, information officer at the Kalimati market, Nepal’s largest vegetables and fruits wholesale marketplace.

“The traders are supplying onions through their contacts. It could be either old stock or smuggled one.”

In India, onion is being traded at around IRs70 per kg.

During normal times, 80 to 100 tonnes of onions arrive in the Kalimati market, Shrestha said.

In November 2019, the price of onion hit a new high of Rs250 per kg in Kathmandu Valley after India slapped a ban on onion exports in September of the same year to maintain domestic availability.

The ban caused a severe shortage of onions all over Asia including Nepal. The embargo was lifted in March 2020. India again stopped onion exports from September 2020 to January 2021.

According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported 180,190 tonnes of onions worth Rs6.75 billion from India in the last fiscal year.