Pakistan onion relief to North, but Mumbai still pays Rs80 a kg

Maharashtra may be the highest producer of onions in the country, but with the prices of the vegetable touching Rs70-80 per kg and its stock fast depleting, the state cannot cope with the demand anymore. 

Traders elsewhere, in the meantime, have started importing onions from Pakistan.

More than 50 truck loads of onions have arrived in Punjab in the past two days through the Wagha-Attari land route in Amritsar, reviving the traders’ campaign for opening up trade with the neighbouring country.

“We need to open up borders and allow free trade,” said BS Aggarwal, chairman of the Amritsar grain market.

The onions have been imported at an average rate of Rs20 per kg.
The Customs department officials had said on Monday that 13 small trucks laden with 200 bags of onions each had crossed over to India, whereas about 40 trucks came on Tuesday.

Officials expect the imports to increase in the days to come and it could take care of the prevailing shortage in Punjab. 

However, according to experts, considering the huge demand throughout the country, importing will not meet the needs fully. 

Nanasaheb Patil, director, Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Lasalgaon, the market which exports maximum onions, said, “There is a huge gap between demand and supply, even if we are importing onions from Pakistan. It’s difficult to meet our state’s demand. If we get onions at a cheaper rate from Pakistan, then we should import more.”

The farmers get 50 to 60 quintals of onions per acre of land, but due to inclement weather the produce was only 3 to 4 quintals.

“Gujarat is the only state which was not affected by the rains. Let’s see how much onion they can provide us. It is difficult to predict when the prices will come down. It depends on the new crop which is expected in March-April,” Patil added.   

When contacted, Qaramat Ali, director of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, said, “For the past few years Pakistan has been importing onions from India. Now the time has come for Pakistan to export onions to India. It is good in a sense that at least the South Asia market would open up.”

However, director of APMC, Vashi, Ashok Walunj said: “How much onion can Pakistan provide us? And we will have to check the quality that comes from there. The prices of second grade onions have shot up to Rs50-60 per kg.”

The demand from India, on the other hand, has affected the onion prices in Pakistan, since Pakistan too did not have extra onion crop and India had been exporting onions to them till March-April.  

Traders at the Vashi AMPC market say that such a situation is, in fact, new to them. Sanjay Thorat, a wholesale trader, said, “Earlier there was a shortage of onions, but this is a different situation. Day by day the prices are going up. Today, the market price for 10kg is Rs700-800.”