CHANDIGARH: With onion prices skyrocketing in India, the supply of the kitchen staple from Afghanistan has surged. More than 75 truckloads of the crop are coming daily at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari border. More supply is expected, leading to a fall in prices soon.
Sources said on Friday 78 trucks came from Afghanistan and 45 a day earlier carrying about 40 metric tonnes (20,000 to 40,000 kg per truck). The supply trucks came from the wholesale market of Kabul to the ICP of Attari via Pakistan. Before that 25 trucks came in the last one week. Most of the onion is imported by traders in Punjab and Delhi.
These traders book their consignments with those based in Afghanistan. It takes about two weeks for a consignment to reach India. The payment is made in advance and at times it is on credit depending on the relationship between the traders. Former Chairman of CII (Amritsar Zone) Rajdeep Uppal said he expects the prices to stabilize soon.
“The onion is cheaper in Afghanistan. We get it for around `30-32 per kg, including the transportation cost, from Afghanistan. There is no customs duty.’’ “The Afghan onion is not of high quality in comparison with the one grown in Maharashtra or Madhya Pradesh.
"The Afghan onion is a little bigger in size and its taste is also different. The onion trade with Afghanistan has been going on for many decades,’’ said another trader Amarvir Singh.
Though the trade with Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah land route is suspended, trucks carrying the onion continue to arrive from Afghanistan through this route under a bilateral transit trade agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan.