Pak Onion exports to India not resumed

Lahore, Jan 14 (PTI) Onion exports from Pakistan to
India via the Wagah land border have not yet resumed despite
the partial easing of a ban even as an exporter claimed the
supplies of the vegetable to the neighbouring country had shot
up through the sea route.
The supplies through the land route has been stuck as
authorities have made it mandatory for exporters to possess
"irrevocable letters of credit" issued before January 4.
Due to this condition imposed by authorities, not even
a single truck has crossed over to the Indian side since
on Thursday, customs officials here told PTI.
The condition has made it difficult to clear even
consignments that have been stranded on the Pakistani side at
Wagah for the past few days, they said.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had on Wednesday
given permission for Pakistani traders to go ahead with onion
exports to India for orders that were concluded before January
4, when authorities imposed a ban on the supply of the
vegetable via the land route.
The overall ban on onion exports remains in place.
Muhammad Khalil Bhatti, a leading exporter of Lahore,
said orders for perishable items were usually concluded with
Indian importers orally on the basis of mutual understanding
and payments were received after the delivery of consignments.
“The government has made it difficult for exporters to
clear their finalised orders by imposing the condition of
requirement of a letter of credit.
Consignments of perishable goods are dealt with by
importers and exporters on a day-to-day basis,” he said.
Bhatti said a majority of traders had either dumped
their onion consignments in warehouses or sold them in the
local market as they had no other option.
A few traders, who did not remove their trucks from
the border, were still hoping their consignments would be
cleared.
Bhatti criticised the government for only blocking
onion export via the Wagah land border, saying large
quantities of onions were being exported by other land and sea
routes.
Following the ban, around 1,000 tonnes of onion was
being sent to India by sea and exports were also continuing to
Afghanistan, Iran, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Malaysia and other
countries on a daily basis, he said.
Before the ban was put in place, hardly 200 to 300
tonnes of onions were being sent to India from the Karachi
port, Bhatti said.
Authorities said they had imposed the ban to stabilise
prices in the domestic market, which they claimed had surged
after onion exports to India began in mid-December. PTI