Permission to export onion to boost production, improve livelihood of farmers

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani government should immediately lift the ban on the export of onion which would help improve the export earnings and also increase the production as shipment will give better price to farmers. Waheed Ahmed, Patron in Chief of Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Association told Dunya news that government should abolish the ban on export of onion. The country’s exporters could earn millions of dollars as several countries including Sri Lank, Indonesia, Malaysia and other Middle East block have shown interest in buying onion from Pakistan.
Arrival of Sindh crop, he said has helped clipped the rising trend witnessed in onion price. Currently the whole sale rate has been in the range of Rs 25 to Rs 30 kilograms from recent peak of Rs 80 per kg.“This is the best time the government should lift ban as harvesting in neighboring country India has not yet commenced and we can easily cash the time”, he explained.Export earnings could improve and the country could bank around 10 million dollars through the shipment of onion, Waheed Ahmed said.The permission to export would improve the earnings of the farmers and they would be benefitted which would encouraged them to harvest more in next season. This would help improve the livelihood and moreover the production will increase substantially and local people will get onion at lower price compared with this season, he said.