LAHORE – Onion exporters and middlemen on Thursday held a protest against the ban on onion export to India. The exporters gathered at the Badami Bagh’s fruit and vegetable market at Ravi Road and blocked the main road. They said the government took the decision haphazardly and did not allow the exporters to complete their orders.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) imposed a ban on the export of onion from Wagha land route on Tuesday which put the exporters’ orders in limbo. The protestors demanded the government to withdraw its order and allow them to complete the orders. An onion exporter, Atteq Chaudhry, said onion export is not a reason of unstable prices in the local market, as there had been surplus crop.
He said if the government wanted to ban the exports then it should have given time to the exporters for completing their orders. He said around 700 metric tons of onions were transported from Wagha land route daily. “The export orders will be around 5,000 to 7,000 metric tons, which will be processed in ten to twelve days,” he said adding that the government should give them some time to process the existing deals with Indian traders otherwise the payment scheduled will be jeopardized. “This will also create mistrust among the two countries trading parties and negatively impact on future trading as well”, he added.
