October 04, 2006	Wednesday	Ramazan 10, 1427

KARACHI, Oct 3: After Kabul, some parties have also booked Indian onion which will land in Pakistan this week in order to meet the rising demand in Ramazan.

Pakistan is facing problem as torrential rains in August and September badly damaged the Sindh onion crop at a time of increased demand in the holy month.

Haji Shahjehan, a leading vegetable wholesaler in the new Subzi Mandi at Super Highway, told Dawn that some parties had booked 500 tons of Indian onion at the rate of $150 per ton which would land in Karachi this week.

“We will see the future prospects for further imports after checking the quality and price of Indian onion,” he said and added that last year some 70,000-80,000 tons of Indian onion had been imported that had resulted in stabilising the local prices.

He said currently some people were also bringing Indian onion through Wagah Border but in limited quantities.

Mr Shahjehan claimed that rains had damaged 50-60 per cent onion crop in Sindh and that was the reason that onion prices had been under pressure these days.

He said that onion from Sindh crop had initially started arriving in the wholesale market but heavy rains had affected its quality.

He said some parties had expedited the onion imports from Kabul and currently 1,500-2,000 tons were finding their way into Pakistan daily through Peshawar Border as compared to 800-1,000 tons ahead of Ramazan.

Kabul’s onion sells between Rs550-600 per 40-kg in the Subzi Mandi while Balochistan’s crop is available between Rs400-450 per 40-kg, said Shahjehan.

He did not give the exact number of quantities that needed to be imported from Kabul and India, but he hoped that full-fledged arrivals of Sindh crop after 10 days would further stabilise the prices.

Because of low production this season and rising consumption in the country owing to Ramazan, many market players have to suspend exports of onion, he added.

Currently, consumers are paying Rs18 per kg for high quality onion as compared to Rs15 per kg last month. Retailers, who lift the commodity from low rates from the Subzi Mandi, charge different rates depending on the locality and even they do not sell onion on the prices fixed by the city government.