Pakistani Onions to be Released on Tuesday: JNPT.

The Jawarhalal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) on Monday said that the Pakistani onions pending for release at the port since December 29 would be released tomorrow as the scanning by the Customs was over this evening.

The 200 tonne onions shipped from the Karachi port landed at the JNPT last Wednesday and were awaiting Customs and other clearances even as people were paying through their nose for this commodity.

"The Customs have cleared the consignment, which is also being examined by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and found to be in good condition and the same is to be taken delivery by the importers from the Container Freight Station (CFS), JNPT said in a release this evening.

Denying its role in the delay in releasing onions, the nation's largest port that handles over 65 per cent of the container traffic, said since the consignments are sent to a private party, it was not involved in the clearing process.

"The port has no role to play in the clearing process of such goods," it said. The eight containers carrying 200 tonne Pak onions came through a private shipping agent to the private container terminal operated by Gateway Terminal India and JNPT would not have knowledge of clearance issues of such consignment as this is to be done by the Customs and other authorities as per the rules, it clarified.

"The entire process requires coordination between the shipping agent, the container terminal, the Custom House Agent, CFS, FSSAI," the port said.

JNPT deputy chairman NM Kumar had earlier said the clearance process was taking time as consignments have to undergo a rigorous screening process for security reasons.

Besides, it being agri produce, the shipment also has to go through the mandatory plant quarantine (PQ) clearance to detect the presence of any possible bacteria or virus, in addition to the normal customs duty protocol.

Private traders have been importing onions from Pakistan since December 21 since the government allowed duty-free imports of the commodity, following a sharp spike in its price on the back of crop damage due to inclement weather.

With prices going upto Rs 100 a kg, the government abolished import duty on onions and banned exports of the commodity for an indefinite period.

Later, the government decided to allow state trading agencies PEC and STC to import 1,000 tonne onions from Pakistan. Till date, over 5,000 tonne Pak onions have been imported into the country by road through Amritsar.

Presently, onions are selling in the retail market at over Rs50/kg.

Meanwhile, agricultural produce market committee onion and potato mandi director Ashok Baluji said prices are likely to ease after January 15, when fresh crops from Pune start arriving in the markets here

Source : dnaindia.com