No sign of ban lifting, Pak traders to sell 3,000 MT of onion
With Pakistan showing no signs of lifting a ban on onion exports, around 300 trucks bound for India have turned back from the border and are likely to offload the produce in the retail markets of their own country, traders said today.
"Pakistan-based vegetable exporters will sell onions, which were contracted before the ban was imposed, in the local market as it (onions) is a perishable commodity and they (traders) cannot hold it for long," Amritsar-based vegetable trader Anil Mehra said today.
However, trucks carrying vegetables and soyabean grown in India continued to cross the Attari-Wagah Border into Pakistan. Today, 100 trucks carrying Indian agri-commodities crossed into Pakistan, while seven trucks carrying dry fruit entered India, a Customs official said.
With the Pakistani authorities remaining firm on not revoking the ban in spite of requests forwarded by traders there, Amritsar-based vegetable importers said all the orders placed for Pakistani onions now stood cancelled.
"The contracted orders for the supply of onions (from Pakistan) are now cancelled as there is a little hope that Pakistan lifts a ban on onion exports via land route," said another vegetable importer Mukesh Sindhwani, whose order for 150 tonnes of onions could not be fulfilled on account of the ban.
The Pakistan government has not yet taken any decision on the request by Pakistani vegetable traders to lift the ban on onion exports, they said.
Pakistan had announced the imposition of a ban on onion exports to India via the land route on January 5 to rein in spiralling prices in its own country. No truck carrying onions has been allowed to cross over into India since January 6, even though the consignments were contracted prior to the ban.
The Pakistan government's surprise move resulted in almost 300 trucks carrying 3,000 tonnes of onions getting stranded at the border. However, given the bleak prospects for the ban being lifted, the trucks are now offloading the perishable commodity in their own market.
Notably, the Indian government had asked Pakistan to execute the orders placed prior to the ban, but remained unsuccessful.
India started importing onions from Pakistan in the month of December for the first time with a view to reduce prices in the domestic market. About 7,000 MT of onions have arrived in India since the commencement of onion imports from Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah land route.
