Onions back to Rs 80 a kg, imports to cool prices

NEW DELHI: Retail onion prices have bounced back to Rs 70-80 a kg and cooperative major Nafed on Wednesday floated tenders inviting traders to import the must-have veggie from Pakistan, Iran, China and Egypt.
The imports will take at least two weeks to ease the prices of this kitchen staple. Officials expect the initial consignments from Pakistan to roll in though the Wagah Border by early next month.
“Supplies from Pakistan will not only be cost effective, but they’ll also take less time to deliver the consignments,” an official said. The Wagah Border may be preferred for the imports. It’s an easy, less time-taking route than the Karachi-Mumbai sea lane, he added.
Nafed took a week to float the tenders after the government decided on imports on August 14. It asked private traders to submit their proposals with final rates per tonne by August 27. The shortlisted importers will have another seven days to deliver onions to the federation which will distribute them.
Since the cooperative major wants importers to deliver consignments at its warehouse in the capital’s Lawrence Road, it is expected that the initial imports will most likely be from Pakistan. Later supplies from Iran, China and Egypt will keep the chain going in the coming months.
The federation came out with the tender a day after public sector company PEC Limited floated an expression of interest for empanelment of international suppliers for import of 3 lakh tonnes of onion.
These supplies, coupled with relatively easy flow of the produce from domestic wholesale markets (mainly Maharashtra and Karnataka), are expected to bring down the retail price substantially towards the end of next month and early October – a month before Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh go to assembly polls. However, onion price are likely to remain under pressure till October-end when the new crop is expected to hit the market.
Although the retail price had cooled over the weekend, also on Monday-Tuesday when it showed a decline of nearly Rs 10 per kg, it again shot up to Rs 70-80 per kg on Wednesday. The minimum export price — $650 per tonne – fixed by the government on August 14, had an impact on the domestic market. The rates rose again after rains disrupted supply lines. The wholesale price at Maharashtra’s Lasalgoan -- Asia's largest onion market — rose slightly to Rs 41.25 a kg, pushing the retail price up on Wednesday.
Nafed, in its tender notice, specified that the imports must be good quality, free of fungus infestation and insect and mould attacks. It has asked for phytosanitary and fumigation certificates from the exporting countries.