Fresh Red Onions (Indian Red & Pink, Pakistani, Egyptian, Chinese, Turkish)

Red and pink onions by size band, class and cure, in 15-25 kg leno mesh bags by the reefer or ventilated container

Red onions are bought on colour, pungency, size, skin and cure, and every colour clears customs under HS 0703.10, onions and shallots, fresh or chilled. Size is the maximum diameter of the bulb's equatorial section, and under the UNECE onion standard Class I needs at least 90% of the lot to meet the class, with no more than 1% below Class II or decayed and shoots no longer than 1 cm. India's National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF) in Nashik lists bulbs of 4-6 cm for Agrifound Dark Red and 5.5-6.25 cm for NHRDF Red-4, so buyers name a size band, not only a variety. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 0703.10 total USD 4.84 billion and about 8.69 million MT. Among this page's origins, India declared USD 416 million and 894,000 MT (Bangladesh 420,000 MT, Sri Lanka and Malaysia about 120,000 MT each, the UAE 88,000 MT), China USD 578 million and 1.28 million MT, mostly to Vietnam, Japan and Malaysia, Pakistan USD 219 million and 323,000 MT, Egypt USD 181 million and 216,000 MT, and Türkiye 95,000 MT. India's export policy follows its domestic price: a 40% export duty from August 2023, a USD 800/MT minimum export price from 29 October 2023, a ban from December 2023 with only government-approved quantities to six countries, reopening in May 2024 at a USD 550/MT minimum export price, a 20% duty from 13 September 2024 and its withdrawal from 1 April 2025. India exported 2.53 million MT in 2023, 894,000 MT in 2024 and 1.50 million MT in 2025, APEDA reports 1.55 million MT in the 2025-26 fiscal year, and in late August 2026 the government reported about 382,000 MT exported in April-June 2026 while releasing buffer stocks at home. The export status, any duty and any minimum export price are confirmed for each shipment.

India harvests from November to January and from January to May, Maharashtra grows about 44% of the crop, and exporters plan shipments and storage of the pink or Garwa crop from mid-March. Egypt banned onion exports from October 2023 to the end of March 2024 and ships to Europe mainly from March to July, and Pakistan exports 300,000-450,000 MT in a normal year, mainly to Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the UAE, but declared 169,000 MT in 2025. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers red and pink onions from packers and exporters in India, Pakistan, Egypt, China and Türkiye to importers, wholesalers, repackers and processors in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Europe, against the phytosanitary certificate from the origin's plant protection organisation, a certificate of origin and an inspection of size, dryness and sprouting at loading where the buyer wants it. Residues meet the destination's limits - in the EU, Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, with tighter limits from some Dutch and German buyers, and cadmium at 0.030 mg/kg and lead at 0.10 mg/kg under Regulation (EU) 2023/915 - and APEDA has framed residue guidelines and grade designations for Indian export onions. Curing comes first: NHRDF recommends cutting the tops to a 2.5 cm neck and 10-15 days of shade curing before storage, maleic hydrazide applied about two weeks before harvest holds back sprouting, and new-crop onions need at least two weeks of drying before transport. Dry onions travel at about 0-4°C and 65-75% relative humidity, never below 0°C: as chilled cargo in reefers with fresh air supplied on longer voyages, or as general cargo in actively ventilated or open-sided containers, kept dark with carbon dioxide under 0.5%. APEDA's packaging specification gives 15-25 kg leno mesh or jute bags; small-meshed bags are unsuitable. Cargo moves on FOB, CFR and CIF terms, priced per MT for the size band and bag. Send the colour, size band, class, bag, quantity, discharge port and shipment month, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.