Trucks Loaded, Traders Willing Yet Onions Held Up in Pak.

Traders in Amritsar say 300 trucks carrying 3,000 tonnes of onions are waiting for a signal from the Pak govt to cross into India

There is still no sign of Pakistan resuming supply of onions to India despite requests made through diplomatic channels. However, traders here say onions are available in abundance in the Lahore market and the traders across the border have been pressing their government to lift the ban on their supply to India.

According to reports from across the border, more than 3,000 metric tonnes of onions are available in the Pakistan market for export. “But the traders are divided. The traders in Lahore want the supply to be made to India, while those in Karachi want the vegetable to be sent to some other country,” said Om Parkash, President of Amritsar-Lahore Traders Association.

Parkash said he was in touch with traders in Pakistan and they had confirmed to him that onions were available for export to India. “I am still hopeful. There is pressure on the Pakistan government to lift the ban. I feel onions will be coming from across the border in the next few days,” he said, adding that Indian traders had resumed vegetable exports to Pakistan but the neighbouring country was yet to reciprocate.

Anil Mehra, another trader, said traders in Pakistan were talking to their government about the ban but unfortunately no decision had been taken on the matter. “I was told by my Pakistan counterpart that onions are rotting in Pakistan. Although we have been supplying tomatoes, green chillies and garlic to Pakistan, they are yet to show positive signs on resuming the supplies of onions,” said Mehra.

Pakistan had stopped the supply of onions to India through the Attari border land route citing shortage of the vegetable in its home market. The neighbouring country had been sending truckloads of onions to India in the last one month, providing some respite on the price front here.

Manav Taneja, another trader, also said there were no signs of Pakistan lifting the ban. He said 300 trucks loaded with more than 3,000 metric tonnes of onions were standing ready to cross the border as soon as the ban was lifted. “But if the Pakistan government takes more time to decide, the traders across the border will sell the onions locally, or to any other country, such as Sri Lanka or their neighbours in the Middle East.”

Meanwhile, prices have been on the rise in India. So long as onions from Pakistan were available, prices of the vegetable had come down from Rs 75 per kilo to Rs 40-45, but these have again crossed the Rs 50 level.

“There is a shortage and the prices might go up yet again as the supply to entire north India from Maharashtra has stopped,” said a trader here.

Source : indianexpress.com