KARACHI – The imposition of a ban on the export of onions to India through land route will help to lower the domestic prices of the commodity. Welcoming the decision, the office bearers of All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exports, Imports and Merchants Association (PFVA), have said that the unchecked export of onion through the Wagha border was causing the price hike in the domestic markets.
Speaking to Pakistan Today PFVA former Chairman Waheed Ahmed revealed that soon after the halt of trade through the land route, the price of onion in the domestic market has reduced by Rs 1000 per 40 kg (maund) allowing the price of the basic food item to fall to Rs 25 per kg.
He said the current rise in the price of onion from Rs 50 to Rs 70 per kg was a result of the automatic forces of demand and supply with such high quantities of the goods being exported; it would inevitably lead to a fall in local stocks and hence lead to a rise in domestic prices.
However, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry former President and SAARC Vice President Iftikhar Ali Malik took an opposing view on the issue. “Such decisions hamper trade and cause waste of perishable goods. This is neither in the interest of the government nor traders or consumers”, he noted.
He called upon the customs authorities to immediately clear contracted consignments held up at the Wagah border crossing. “The issuance of such notification is not a good practice and not in the interest of bilateral trade, which despite having enormous potential is creeping at snail pace.” Malik noted and added that if such attitudes continue to prevail, it will damage the prospects for the business community in both countries.
The step taken by the government was also necessitated by the need to control the price of basic items which is feared to continue to go upwards given the current hike in petroleum prices, they added. The government had slapped a ban given fears that the price of the commodity will shoot up to over Rs 100 per kg in the country. The shortage of the item, sources said, was due to the damage wrought by the floods that had caused devastation on a mass scale and damaged crop on thousands of acres in the country.
According to sources, the concerned authorities will also keep a close eye on export of onions through sea route so as to restrict domestic prices and mitigate shortages in the local market. However, sources indicated, there was no ban on the export of the same item through the sea routes.
As per official notification issued by Ministry of Commerce, dated January 4, ‘onion export was allowed except through land route via Wagah to India’. According to sources, almost 60,000 tonnes of onion had been exported. According to sources, 70 to 80 trucks loaded with onion were being exported to India on a daily basis while almost 500 onion loaded trucks were waiting to enter the neighboring country. But sources claimed that these onions could still be exported through goods train running between India and Pakistan.
