Pak suffers price crash but won’t supply onions to India

Onion is in abundance in Pakistan and its prices have crashed down to Rs 10 to Rs 12 per kilogram there. But across the border in Indian side,prices of the vegetable are ranging between Rs 40 and Rs 45,and even more in other parts of the country.

Though the prices have come down,Pakistan has not yet lifted the ban on its export to India,despite pressures from the traders’ community there. Om Parkash,who heads the Amritsar-Lahore Traders’ Association. He said he was regularly in touch with traders on Pakistan who were resentful over the decision of their government to ban supply of onions to India. “The traders in Pakistan are anguished. They told me that onions are so much in abundance that the prices have drastically crashed. But their government is not ready to lift the ban,” he said,adding that he was still hopeful that onions from Pakistan would start arriving in the next few days.

“There are 300 trucks loaded with onion meant for India. Even these are not being cleared by Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce,” said Parkash. The traders here said even if Pakistan wanted to ban exports it should at least clear the orders already placed by Indian traders.

The supply of Indian vegetables to Pakistan,meanwhile,continued on Wednesday.