7,000 tonnes of onions rotting at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust

Rajpal Hande, the accused

There is a slow stink rising at the freight stations at Navi Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust with more than 7,000 tonnes of imported onions rotting there for over a month.

As the prices of onions have plumetted in the local market, importers do not seem too keen on clearing these consignments as the landed cost of these onions is much higher, Business Line reported

According to traders, the landed cost of imported onions works out to R45 per kg while the wholesale market price is R23 per kg. The current retail price is around R65 to R70 per kg. Importers want shipping companies to waive some charges before they clear the consignments, sources said.

Last year, prices of onions had spiked after unseasonal rain in Nashik region partially destroyed the onion crop. Nashik has the largest area under onion cultivation in
the country. Anticipating a shortage, traders placed orders in the Egyptian market by October, and these arrived at JNPT after November 1 at a landed cost of around R26 per kg, while in the retail markets the prices had reached R130 per kg.

However, as the supply started to improve at the end of 2019 and start of 2020, traders lost interest in the imported onions.

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