Indian exporters have filed a writ petition with a court in Mumbai seeking export of onions which had been under transit or processed for exports before a ban was clamped on export of onions.
Confirming the matter to Dhaka Tribune on Monday, Indian exporter Anil Thakur said a writ petition was filed on September 25 and a hearing was scheduled tomorrow.
Anil Thakur said that the Indian government issued a notice imposing a ban on onion export on September 14. As a result, no consignment of onion was exported through the land port on that day.
However, five days later the government allowed the export of some onions that had been loaded prior to the notification. As a result, exporters were able to export 246 tons of onions through 11 trucks to Bangladesh, he said.
But many more trucks loaded with onions were waiting to enter Bangladesh, with most of the onions rotting in the absence of permission for export. “For this reason, we could not export the onions, causing a loss to exporters,” the exporter said.
“We will not get bills if the pre-contracted onions do not reach the importers. So a writ petition was filed seeking export of pre-contracted onions,” Anil Thakur added.
Mobarok Hossain, a Bangladeshi onion importer at Hili Land port, said: “If Indian exporters get permission from the court, there is a possibility of 40 to 50 trucks with pre-contracted onions coming into the country. Indian exporters have told us that instructions could be obtained on Tuesday.”
