JNPT to clear 200 tn of onions from Pak today

Over 200 tonnes of onions imported from Pakistan, which is lying at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), is likely to be cleared by this evening, according to a top port official.

"We have eight containers of onions imported, which arrived on December 29, from Pakistan and it is going through the mandatory clearance processes. The consignment will be released by late this evening or tomorrow," JNPT Deputy Chairman N M Kumar said here.  

The clearance is taking time as all consignments imported from the neighbouring country has to go through an extensive scanning process for security reasons, he said.

Apart from this, being an agricultural produce the consignment also has to go through Plant Quarantine (PQ) clearance to detect bacteria or virus and the normal customs duty clearances, he said.

"All the three steps are taking time as there are eight containers, which have to go through 100 per cent scanning," he said. 

He said that normally onions survive for 10-15 days and this present consignment will reach the market in ample time for general disbursement.

"Normally onions survive for 10-15 days and this consignment, after all the necessary clearances, will reach the wholesale markets for retail disbursement with ample time. I think this has become a issue as onion is a sensitive matter," he added.

Imports of onion from Pakistan began from December 20-25, to help cool off the skyrocketing retail prices.