Dehydrated onion and garlic from India can be imported into Australia, and two sets of rules apply at the border: biosecurity conditions set by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) in its BICON database, and food safety checks under the Imported Food Inspection Scheme, tested against the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. What usually stops a shipment is not the product itself but a missing or wrong declaration, soil or insect contamination found at inspection, or a lab result that fails the Code.
Biosecurity first: check BICON
BICON, the Biosecurity Import Conditions system, is the official place to look up whether a plant product can enter Australia and on what terms. DAFF states that a commodity not listed in BICON for the exporting country cannot be imported until conditions are developed. For dried vegetables, the conditions typically cover that the goods are commercially prepared and packed, clean, free of soil, live insects and other contamination, and processed so they are shelf stable. Some cases also ask for a manufacturer's declaration. Look up the case for your exact product, dried onion or dried garlic, flakes or powder, and print the conditions for your Indian supplier.
Fresh garlic bulbs follow a separate, stricter pathway with an import permit, so never mix fresh product into a dehydrated container.
Food safety: the Imported Food Inspection Scheme
Once biosecurity is satisfied, food is referred under the Imported Food Inspection Scheme, which DAFF runs on advice from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). Foods are classed as risk food or surveillance food. Risk food is referred at a high rate that drops after consecutive passes. Surveillance food is referred at random, at a rate DAFF publishes as 5 per cent as of 2026, and a failure leads to a holding order against that producer, so later consignments are tested until a clean record is rebuilt. Check how your product is classed on the DAFF site before the first shipment.
Search DAFF's monthly failing food reports for Indian onion, garlic and spices before choosing a plant.
Lab tests that matter in Australia
- Pesticide residues against the maximum residue limits in Schedule 20 of the Food Standards Code. Australian limits differ from EU and US limits, so ask the lab to report against the Australian list, not a generic one.
- Ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol. Check the current position in the Code and test anyway if the lot could be sold on elsewhere. See why 2-chloroethanol is tested.
- Salmonella, E. coli, total plate count, yeast and mould. See salmonella in dehydrated onion.
- Moisture, foreign matter and, for retail packs, a label check against the Code and the country of origin food labelling rules.
Documents
Your customs broker will lodge the import declaration in the Integrated Cargo System and needs a full set. The usual pack is listed in the document pack your broker will ask for.
- Commercial invoice and packing list with lot numbers that match the bags and the lab reports.
- Bill of lading.
- Certificate of origin. For a preferential claim under the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), in force since 29 December 2022, the supplier needs the ECTA form issued by an authorised Indian agency.
- Any manufacturer's declaration or treatment statement that the BICON case asks for. Whether a phytosanitary certificate is needed depends on the case; read do dehydrated vegetables need a phytosanitary certificate.
- Lab reports from an NABL-accredited laboratory, tied to each lot.
Duty and the trade agreement
Under ECTA, Australia committed to removing tariffs on all Indian goods by 1 January 2026, and reports indicate it has done so. The benefit only applies if the origin paperwork is right, so confirm the treatment for your tariff classification in the Australian Border Force Working Tariff, and ask your broker to check GST and any import processing charges. India and Australia are negotiating a wider agreement (CECA) at the time of writing, so check for changes.
What Australia buys and how it arrives
Australian demand leans towards granules and powder for seasoning blends, snack coatings, sauces, soups and processed meat, with minced and chopped onion used in ready meals and food service. Garlic powder and granules move into the same blending trade. Our guide to Indian versus Chinese dehydrated garlic explains a choice many Australian buyers weigh.
Containers leave Mundra, Pipavav or Nhava Sheva, usually with a transhipment at Colombo, Singapore or Port Klang, and arrive at Melbourne, Sydney (Port Botany), Brisbane, Fremantle or Adelaide. Door to door often takes around four to six weeks, but schedules vary, so ask your forwarder.
Cities
Most Indian food containers land at Australia's two largest ports, and we have written a guide for each city:
How we help
We find and audit dehydrated onion and dehydrated garlic plants in Gujarat, have every lot tested at an NABL-accredited lab against Australian limits, supervise loading, and check the ECTA origin papers and BICON declarations before the ship sails, for one written fee agreed in advance. You buy direct from the plant. For more on working with us from Australia, see a sourcing agent in India for Australian importers, or book a free sourcing review.