KARACHI: Record-breaking onion exports brought in $210 million between July and April of FY24, despite customers paying record rates for the vegetable due to inflation.
Waheed Ahmed, the patron-in-chief of the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association, asserted that “onion exports may soar to $250m by the end of the current fiscal year,” refuting the myth that increased exports have led to a spike in the price of the nation’s staple food.
Consumers in Pakistan spent between Rs. 300 and Rs. 350 per kg for onions after India banned exports from December 8, 2023, to April of this year. In the first week of May, New Delhi lifted the prohibition, resulting in a decrease in the average price nationwide to Rs70-150 per kg.
“The price increase is unrelated to the shipments of goods for export. According to Mr. Waheed, the role of the price regulator is to prevent consumers from being taken advantage of by market forces. He used the example of “if retailers are charging Rs. 300 for an onion when the wholesale price is Rs. 150, then exports cannot be held responsible for the increase in local prices.”
In 10MFY24, total vegetable exports were 1.044 million tonnes, bringing in $371 million, as opposed to 1.171 million tonnes ($262 million) during the same period in the previous fiscal year.Accordingly, exports, which included onions, had achieved an average price per tonne of $354 as opposed to $233 during the previous period, owing to the steady rupee-dollar parity that began in September 2023.
According to Mr. Waheed, “the share of onions in overall exports is 200,000-225,000 tonnes, with potatoes and other vegetables holding the remainder.”
In order to meet local demand, local traders also imported onions from Iran and Afghanistan, although this was unable to lower prices. To meet demand worldwide, the exporters, however, took full advantage of the circumstances created by the Indian prohibition.
In the second week of January, the caretaker government increased the minimum export price (MEP) for onions from $750 to $1,200 per tonne. This decision, which called for 100% advance payments, was made in an effort to keep growers from losing money and to lower prices in the neighborhood market. For the end consumers, though, the choice turned out to be counterproductive.
According to him, Pakistani onions are now sold in a number of nations for the first time, and the government is shipping massive amounts of the product to normal Far Eastern markets.
“If quarantine issues with Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, etc. are resolved, our onion exports can grow even more,” he stated.
