Onion imports making up just a small fraction of shortfall as prices surge
Hindustan Times, New Delhi Published: Zia Haq The government is scouring markets in West Asia and Europe for onions, but has been able to import just a fraction of what the country needs, prolonging the worst price spiral since the 2010 crisis. On November 22, the government contracted 6,090 tonnes of shipments from Egypt. These consignments are expected to begin arriving around December 10. On November 29, 11,000 tonne were contracted from Turkey and are expected to begin landing in January. Contracts for an additional 4,000 tonne from Turkey have been signed, a statement said on Wednesday. This shipment is expected to arrive by mid-January. Total shipments contracted for import so far stand at 21,090 tonne. The current shortfall, however, is far larger at 160,000 metric tonne, according to a comparison of arrival figures for the vegetable in wholesale markets during October-November from a year-ago period from the National Horticulture Development Board (NHDB) data...