APMC traders say Indian onions are of superior quality; imported onions will continue to flood the market for a few weeks as bulk order was placed when there was a crisis
Owing to the poor demand, traders at the APMC market in Vashi last week disposed off nearly 20 to 25 tonnes of onions imported from Egypt as they started to rot. Despite the loss, another 28 tonnes of imported onions from Turkey arrived at the market on Monday. This stock is yet to be cleared.
Despite falling demand, the APMC market received 28 tonnes of onions from Turkey on Monday
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While the government is importing onions to bring down their spiralling prices in the retail market, traders claim the demand for imported onions is less in comparison to the home-grown product. They added that the supply of fresh, home-grown onion at the market has brought down the wholesale price to Rs 20-32 per kg.
“Now that the prices have reduced in the wholesale market, retailers will prefer to sell home-grown onions because they are of better quality in comparison to the imported ones,” said Babaji Dhumal, a trader at the onion market.
Traders said with home-grown onions available at a cheaper rate, prices of the imported ones will have to be negotiated in order to make them saleable to avoid further losses. Price of imported onions in the wholesale market this week is around Rs 22 to Rs 35 per kg against last week’s Rs 40 to Rs 45 per kg.
Inflow continues
When asked why imported onions are still flooding the market despite a fall in price, traders said it is happening due to bulk order placed during the crisis period. “These onions were ordered to bring down the prices. Despite the price drop, the supply can’t be stopped because the stock was pre-ordered. Imported onions will continue to hit city markets for a few more weeks at least,” said a trader.
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