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NEW DELHI, Oct 25 (AFP): India will import onions, a key ingredient in its food, from China and Pakistan to tide over a domestic shortage caused by a poor crop yield due to heavy rains and floods, officials said today.
"We have contracted the import of 2,000 tonnes of onions from China and 650 tonnes from Pakistan and the overall prices of the commodity will stabilise soon," said Alok Ranjan, a senior official of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED).
The first consignment of 30 tonnes of onions from Pakistan came via the Wagah border-the land crossing between the two South Asian rivals in the northern state of Punjab-Saturday and fresh consignments are due in the coming days, importers said.
Prices of onions-which add the tang to Indian food-have soared in the past two weeks with consumers being asked to pay 30 rupees (60 cents) a kilogramme (2.2 pounds) compared to eight rupees (17 cents) a kilogramme a year ago.
The short supply across India has been attributed to heavy rains which flooded parts of the western state of Maharashtra in July and August, a government statement said.
"Also, high humidity conditions have led to spoilage in stored onions, thereby impacting the availability in the market," the statement said.
"With the increase in the consumer price of onions in some cities, the government has decided to import onions through NAFED to protect consumer interest," it added.
The price of onions is a sensitive political issue in India with voters in 1998 throwing out the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi's provincial elections due to its inability to control soaring prices of the vegetable.
India's ruling Congress party too had a few anxious moments two years ago when prices of onions jumped just ahead of polls in Delhi but managed to romp home after prices later steadied.
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