India has imported 18,000 tonnes of onions from Egypt during last two months as onion prices continue to hover at a high of Rs 60-70 per kg. A similar amount of onions is in the pipeline for being imported by India. The import of onions from Egypt is the highest till date by the country.
Egyptian export of onions to India is estimated to reach around 35,000 tonnes in 2015, up from 567 tonnes in 2014-15. In 2013-2014, India imported 314 tonnes of onions from Egypt, while there was no import the previous year.
India has been importing onions from Egypt and Afghanistan to tide over the crisis. The onion crops in India were damaged following heavy unseasonal rains in onion producing states.