Imported onions rot at Mumbai port, prices soar

Even as soaring onion prices are bringing tears to the common man, government apathy is not helping matters.

Even as prices soar, nearly 200 tonnes of onions imported from Pakistan are lying rotting at a Mumbai port.In Delhi, retail prices have increased from Rs 50 per kg to Rs 60 per kg. In other metros, prices remained at Rs 40-65 per kg.

Traders expect prices to decline after fresh stocks arrive from Maharashtra and Gujarat in a fortnight from now.

Meanwhile, eight containers of onions imported from Pakistan have been lying at the Jawarhalal Nehru Port in Mumbai for the last 5 days, waiting for the requisite clearance before they are dispatched to the wholesale market.

The clearance has not come yet because the necessary intimation to the Customs authority by the state government got delayed. This delay could even damage these perishable onions which have been imported to plug the shortfall across the country.

Port authorities say the clearance is taking time as consignments imported from Pakistan have to undergo a rigorous screening process for security reasons.