Export ban on onion leaves Bengaluru traders in tears

BENGALURU: The ban on export of onions, imposed last week, has left leading exporters of the bulb from the city reeling. They have already lost lakhs by selling it in the domestic market at half the price and are desperate for an immediate solution. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade banned onion export on September 14 following a shortage in the local market which led to price rise after rains played havoc in production areas in Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The biggest exporter of onions from Bengaluru, S Anandan of K Venkatesh & Co, says he is under enormous mental and financial stress. A big name across the country, he buys onions daily from farmers of Challakere in Chitradurga and many of its surrounding areas including Hiriyur, Aimangala, Belaghatta, Koverahatti. “I have lost over Rs 40 lakh just this week. My shipments got stuck at different ports when the ban was suddenly announced — 1,74,000 kg at Chennai port, 2 lakh kg at Kolkata port, 1,50,000 kg at Tuticorin and 98,000 kg at Chennai port.

They were intended for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Malaysia, Vietnam and Hong Kong,” he said. Insisting that onions stored in closed containers will perish in a week, Anandan said that he offloaded the stock at Chennai and Tuticorin at half the price locally. Ajit Shah, president of the Horticultural Produce Exporters Association (aka Onion Exporters Assn), Mumbai, said, “The Indian onion market exports 17 lakh to 18 lakh tonnes annually. A high-level meeting was held on Monday in this connection and those in the know of things tell me that a positive outcome is expected shortly,” he said.