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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 200 tonnes of onions rot at JNPT as officials pass buck by Vijay Singh

200 tonnes of onions rot at JNPT as officials pass buck by Vijay Singh

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published Published on Jan 2, 2011   modified Modified on Jan 2, 2011

Even as the new year brings little cheer on the price front, the famed apathy of our officials continues to move the common man to tears. Nearly 200 tonnes of onions imported from Pakistan are lying at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at Nhava Sheva while officials pass the buck for not releasing the bulb to onion-starved markets.

The affected traders have indicated that the cargo is stuck for want of a health NOC (no-objection certificate), but customs officials at the port said that they were not aware of this problem due to the extended new year weekend. "It's been five days since the cargo arrived in 10 containers at JNPT, but due to certain delays, the onions are still lying there, which is worrisome for our traders," Ashok Walunj of the Vashi-based APMC (the wholesale grain and vegetable market for the city), told TOI.

The chief commissioner of customs at JNPT, K R Bhargava, said they had cleared the consignment. "However, no trader came to me after that for further clearance". Since no customs clearance took place on Saturday and Sunday, there is a very real threat that the highly perishable onions might go waste soon. Bhargava said he would be able to take stock of the situation only on Monday.

JNPT chief spokesperson J K Mhatre told TOI: "It is actually the responsibility of the clearing agents of the traders who had ordered the consignment to quickly get the onions to the market." The head of the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) at Nhava Sheva, S K Tyagi, also suggested that the cargo could have been stuck for want of clearance from the customs zone. "At present I do not have any specific information about the status of these imported stocks. We have 26 container freight stations (CFS) here; the onions could be in any one of these. I will have to talk to the CFS managers on Monday to know their status," said Tyagi.

When asked whether the imported onions can also be withheld or barred if the health NOC was not given, Tyagi said that "a quarantine is possible if the quality of onions is not fit enough for consumption".

Clearance from various authorities, including port health officials and the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), are required for clearing food items like onions, said Bhargava.

"Some of the Pakistani onions in the first consignment were partly rotting or had grown roots or shoots, which is not a good thing as it finds fewer takers in the market. The state and central governments must expedite the process, especially in case of onions," said a Vashi wholesale trader. On an optimistic note, though, Walunj said that fresh onions from the Pune and Nashik regions were expected to arrive at APMC by January 15, which could stabilize the market.

The Times of India, 3 January, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/As-price-flares-tonnes-of-onions-rot-at-Maha-port/articleshow/7207865.cms


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