COLOMBO – The local market has been inundated with an excessive supply of Chinese big onions, leaving many dissatisfied with the shortage of locally-grown, Indian, or Pakistani produce.
The influx of oversized Chinese big onions has sparked discontent among local consumers, who prefer the quality and taste of homegrown or Pakistani and Indian varieties.
Many consumers have expressed frustration over the difficulty in sourcing commonly-used varieties of big onions, with this issue being particularly highlighted during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, All-Ceylon Agrarian Federation (ACAF) Convener Namal Karunaratne said that the market would have to continue relying on imports for the supply of big onions.
“We need about 280,000 metric tonnes (MT) of big onions for a year, but this time we harvested less than 7,000 MT, resulting in a gap of 273,000 MT which we had to import,” he said.
Due to both Pakistan and India banning exports of big onions, prices in the local market have continued to skyrocket and have now increased to over Rs. 700 per kilo.
However, the shipments from China offered a relief, being sold at a more affordable price, ranging between Rs. 270 and Rs. 300 per kilo.
Karunaratne further noted that while Sri Lanka had the capacity to supply the required quantity of big onions, this path was not pursued in favour of exporting onions.
He stated that stockpiling onions to create a sense of scarcity and then selling at elevated prices was the biggest issue in the market.
“Truthfully, there isn’t an implementable solution for this,” Karunaratne continued, “It’s the same situation over and over again. Even if farmers work hard to grow the needed supply, this same stockpiling happens.”
According to the daily price report for Friday (19), Indian red onion was priced at Rs. 325 per kilo at the Pettah market, while local red onion was at Rs. 328. The report listed local big onion as being unavailable, while imported big onion was priced at Rs. 491.
Nevertheless, in markets in Colombo and its suburbs, a kilo of smaller-sized big onions was being sold at around Rs. 800.
Attempts by The Sunday Morning attempts to contact Trade Minister Nalin Fernando to inquire about any Government initiatives to engage with India and Pakistan to lift the ongoing ban on big onions and reactivate the supply chain were futile.- Sunday Morning
