Export ban eases pressure on onion

Onion prices in the wholesale markets of Uttar Pradesh fell sharply after the Union government’s announcement of a ban on exports.

In the mandis, orders worth several lakhs have been cancelled in the past three days. In this city alone, export orders of 600 quintals were cancelled yesterday and another 435 qtls on Thursday. In Farrukhabad district, the only wholesale centre for onions in UP, orders worth several lakhs have been cancelled.

Traders said the prices would fall further in the coming weeks, once imports from Pakistan begin. They said the crop in Pakistan started coming in the second week of January and would ease domestic supplies.

According to the general secretary of the UP Fruit and Vegetable Traders Association, Faizan Ahmad, due to soaring prices, the demand had dropped. Several traders had been exporting to Nepal but they’ve now begun cancelling these. Rates had fallen in the past four days at Nashik and in Karnataka, from where 70 per cent of UP’s demand is met.

In the wholesale markets, prices had come down to Rs 20-35 a kg on Thursday. Earlier, these were as high as Rs 45-60 a kg. These will fall further, say traders, since the high water content in the onion makes it difficult to hoard it for long.