Onions to bring tears to govt as no takers of imported stuff

People are shying away from lapping up the imported onions with clear preference to the costlier deshi varieties that may bring tears to the Centre as it fears a pileup of 42,000 tonnes contracted to check the prices. Only early this week it cancelled a shipment of 5,500 tonnes before it set on sail in the absence of demand.

At least 85 per cent of 18,500 tonnes imported from Turkey, Egypt, European Union and Afghanistan continue to remain in the government storage, putting a question mark on the government’s hurry to import onions to tide over the acute shortage in the country. The stock in its storage may start rotting if not lifted soon.

A drop in price of the deshi variant has posed a challenge to the Centre to dispose of the huge stocks since the state governments are not interested in accepting the supply.

The states that refused to lift the imported onions despite earlier raising the demand include Mahrashtra which wanted the highest 10,000 tonnes. Other states that did not lift the imported onions are Assam (3000 tonnes), Haryana (3480 tonnes), Karnataka (250 tonnes) and Odisha (100 tonnes).

So far Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have taken the imported onions but their wholesale dealers say the people prefer the homegrown varieties even at higher price than the imported onions because their taste is not the same.

Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas

Paswan said the Centre is offering the imported onion at an average landed cost of Rs 55 per kg, bearing the entire transportation cost. He admitted the government’s worry about disposal since it is a perishable commodity. His worry is that someone may go to the court and say the imported onions are rotting.

Asked why prices are still high despite the imports, Paswan said: “What can we do if the state governments are not ready to take them?” The states refused to take them since the prices have started falling from the arrival of the late Kharif and Rabi crops. They also contend that the imported onions are way too expensive compared to the onion prices in the domestic market.

The retail onion prices that were ruling over Rs 100-170 per kg in several cities since the past two months, have started softening and the government data shows the prices average at Rs 50 per kg in most markets. In Delhi, the local vendors are selling it for Rs 70-80 a kilo.

early this week the govt had cancelled a shipment of 5,500 tonnes before it set on sail in the absence of demand