Asia feels the sting of India's onion export ban

desh, its biggest buyer of the vegetable.
To overcome the shortage, Bangladesh is trying to source more from China, Egypt and Turkey, said commerce ministry official Tapan Kanti Ghosh.
As general elections approach next month in Bangladesh, the government has begun selling onions at subsidised prices to the poor, hoping to offset a surge of more than 50% in prices after India's ban.
Even worse is the situation in landlocked Nepal, which imports most of its onions.
"Since the ban by India, we have monitored the supply situation at different places. There are no onions on sale," said Tirtharaj Chiluwal, an official of the Himalayan nation's commerce ministry.
Nepal is considering imports from China and may ask India to make an exception and allow exports, said ministry spokesperson Gajendra Kumar Thakur.
Importing nations have to contend with more expensive supplies from China, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, which have all hiked prices since India is out of the market, said Ajit Shah, an Indian exporter.