The prices of onion in the local market have declined drastically from Rs 60 per kg to Rs 23 per kg mainly due to excessive supply of the commodity.
It is worth mentioning that onion crops in Punjab and Sindh were completely devastated by heavy rains and the government had allowed its import from India, Afghanistan and Iran to maintain the prices and meet the requirements.
During Eidul Fitr holidays, the supply of onion remained suspended to the open markets, which caused hike in its prices and it was sold up to Rs 60 per kg.
A customs official posted at Wagha Border told Business Recorder that earlier around 15,000 to 20,000 bags of 100-kg each of the onion were being imported daily from India to Pakistan to fulfil the local demands. However, now daily 4,000 bags of onion are reaching here from India.
When contacted, an importer, Mian Abdul Waheed, said that traders and importers had earned a lot during the recent onion crisis. Regarding the quality of onion, he said it was small in size with a bit wet condition which consumers disliked. However, they are buying it as second option.
Another importer Sadiq Hussain said that onion imported from Afghanistan was better as compared to Indian onion. The onion from Afghanistan is being sold like hot cake in the local market.
Green Vegetable Market In-charge Sarwar Shah said that 1,700 to 2000 bags of 100-kg of the Onion are reaching in the market daily. The onion is being sold in India at Rs 8 per kg and importers are selling it out in the Pakistani market at Rs 26 per kg as retail price and Rs 23 per kg as wholesale price. Moreover, it is learnt that during recent onion crisis, use of onion in the meals at government messes, canteens and jails was stopped.