On Ground Zero, Pak move too late

According to Daima, the present consignment has been imported at Rs 11,125 240-250 dollars per tonne. In addition, there is an import duty of 7.5 per cent. Further, transporting onions within the country at around Rs 1500 per tonne and taking into account the weight loss, consumers will pay at least Rs 25 per kg.

Also, as farmers in Karnataka start harvesting their crop and supply starts trickling in, mandi veterans feel that by the time the Pakistani onion arrives, domestic arrivals would be catching on, further causing a price mismatch.

All the math aside, farmers like Lakhalgaon8217;s Dattu Kandekar are the biggest losers. This season, Kandekar produced two tonnes of onion. On his first trip to the mandi three months back, he sold 1.5 tonnes at Rs 300 per quintal. On his next trip, a week back, his remaining, partially spoilt crop went for Rs 500. 8216;8216;But it still didn8217;t cover my production cost,8217;8217; says the farmer.