Even as onion prices have cooled down in the country, over 7,000 tonnes ofimported onions have been rotting in container freight stations (CFSs) at NaviMumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) for close to a month, according to areport in The Hindu BusinessLine.
Even the importers have a lackadaisical attitude to clear theirconsignments as the cost of imported onions is much higher than the currentretail price of the commodity.
Onion prices had skyrocketed over the past couple of months and burnt ahole in common man’s pocket. However, the prices have plummeted sharply.
The report says, “the key kitchen staple now reportedly selling for Rs 23per kilogram in the wholesale market. The landed cost of theimported?bulbs works out to be Rs 45 per kg.”
They now want shipping companies to waive certain charges so that theirlanded costs come down, the report said citing sources.
The Agriculture ministry had recently said that there was close to 22 percent damage in Kharif onion crop due to late monsoon and excess rainfall later,leading to supply constraints and steep rise in prices.
Anticipating shortage in the market amid crop damage, traders had placedtheir orders in the Egyptian market by early October 2019, sources told thepublication.
Meanwhile, due to shortage onion prices had reached Rs 130-150 per kg inretail markets.
Since September 2019, the price of onions began increasing despite all the measures taken by the government to control the prices. In December, the bulb was selling up to Rs 150 per kg in different parts of the country.An official of the Agriculture Department said this enthused the farmers and in the hope of getting good prices, the farmers began growing new crop.He said a bumper yield of onions is expected in the Rabi season, and to ensure good prices for the farmers, the government is considering lifting the ban on onion exports.The Central government had banned onion exports in September to keep the prices of the vegetable under control.