Rumi Akter Polly of DOT
[2] Onion import through Benapole port has been suspended for 11 consecutive days as the ban on onion import has not been lifted by the Indian Ministry of Commerce, reports barta24.com. [3] As a result, more than hundred trucks carrying onions are parked in various private parking lots and roads in the Petrapole port area of India waiting to enter Benapole. If these trucks are not released soon, the traders will suffer new losses again, reports kalerkantho.com. [4] Meanwhile, Bangladeshi importers, through their Indian exporters, have repeatedly appealed to the Commerce Ministry to release the old LC stuck onions, but so far there has been no response.
As a result, onion import in the country has become uncertain.
Mahasin Milon, president of the Benapole Import and Export Association said, “They had applied to the Commerce Ministry through Indian traders to lift the ban on onion exports. But no response has been received yet. As a result, imports on this route have become uncertain.”
Onion importer Rafiqul Islam Royal is waiting to enter the Benapole port in various parking lots across the Indian port of Petrapole with about a hundred of them in custody. Many truck onions have rotted. These trucks had reached the port area before the ban.
Benapole Port Deputy Director (Traffic) Mamun Kabir Tarafdar said, “India had stopped exporting onions to Bangladesh from September 14 without prior announcement. So far no onion truck has been provided by the Indian authorities. Couldn’t confirm whether to give.”