CHANDIGARH: A day after the Union government imposed minimum import price (MEP) on onion to control the prices which have touched Rs 60-70 per kg, traders have started importing the commodity from Afghanistan through the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari.
Talking with this newspaper, Satish Dhyani, Manager at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Attari, said on an average three-four trucks of onions are coming daily from Afghanistan now. Each truck carries 2,300 kilograms of commodity.
Besides onion, 20-25 trucks of other perishable commodities, including grapes, pomegranate and apples, 10-15 trucks of dry fruits, Herbs and others items are coming in daily. “About 1,110 tonnes of various kinds of agricultural material are pouring into India daily. Before mid-August, it was a meagre 450 tonnes,’’ said Dhyani.
Anil Mehra President of ICP Chamber of Commerce Attari, said, “In the coming days, the number of trucks will increase many fold as already the importers have placed bulk orders with their counterparts in Afghanistan and some 100 to 150 trucks are expected to arrive shortly. Earlier, the price of the Afghan onions was around Rs 22-24 per kg but now it has also risen due to demand in India and presently it is `35-40 per kg. These onions are being sold in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. ‘’
A wholesale onion dealer said that in October the supply of onion also comes from Rajasthan but this year till now the supply from the neighboring state did not come and is expected next month. Also the crop in Maharashtra which is the largest producer of onion in the country got damaged but the prices shot up as the supply decreased.
THROUGH attari