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As Iran tightens exports, Dubai traders may re-export onions from Egypt, Turkey to India

A Correspondent in Dubai

Onion traders in Dubai have temporarily shelved the re-export of Iranian onions to India following a recent hike in wholesale prices in the United Arab Emirates market.

According to traders, re-export price of Iranian onions from Dubai to India are comparatively lower than those directly exported from Iran as traders in Dubai work at profit margins as low as five per cent. The city also enjoys very good freight rate.

There have been enquiries and re-export orders from India in the wake of onion crisis. But the 100 per cent increase in the wholesale price of Iran's onions has affected the freight on board price.

Market sources said the increase in demand for Iran's onions both for local consumption in Dubai and for re-export to India has led Iran to fix the export price at $ 350 per tonne, in a bid to counter cheap, illegal exports.

A trader pointed out that his company had despatched over 100 tonnes of Iranian onions to Bombay in the first week of October and is currently negotiating for 100,000 tonnes to be re-exported to Hyderabad in India.

''But, the price rise has slowed down imports from Iran. We are unable to work out a competitive price to execute the order,'' he explained.

Another trader facing similar problems said new possibilities like importing onions from Egypt and Turkey for re-exporting to India are being explored.

''We are also looking at re-exporting Pakistani onions if the prices are competitive,'' an official of the Falcon Foodstuff Trading in Dubai said.

However, traders are hopeful that a competitive price for Iranian onions for re-export to India will soon be fixed.

In a related development, the Indian government today imposed a total ban on the export of potatoes and onions due to acute shortage in the open market, reports UNI.

Commerce Minister Ramkrishna Hegde announced after a Cabinet meeting in New Delhi that the government has also decided to put the import of pulses on the open general licence list.

This was done in view of the fall in the production of the pulses in the country during the last season.