Burmese Dumping Hits indian Onion Export

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Chennai, March 31: : Exports of Bangalore rose and Krishnapuram variety onions are hit hard as Burma is continuing to dump the commodity in the international market at much cheaper prices. Lower offtake of these variety onions in the export market is feared to force farmers in the country to go in for cultivation of other crops.

Industry sources told The Financial Express that exports of Bangalore rose and Krishnapuram onions have dropped significantly this year owing to the availability of Burma variety at much cheaper rates. "India, on an average, exports about one lakh tonne of these varieties to Malaysia and Singapore at about $300-350 per tonne. Prices have also gone up to $750 per tonne during times of scarcity of the commodity", sources said. But, Burma is able to export similar variety onions at $130-150 per tonne as the land and labour costs in that country are far below when compared to India, sources pointed out.

Because of the poor offtake for the commodity in the export market, sources said, exporters are forced to slash down their rates. Despite this, exporters are not able to be competitive as prices quoted by Burmese exporters are far below. "We cannot divert our stock to the domestic market also as both Bangalore rose and Krishnapuram varieties are exclusively for the export market and are not consumed in the local market", sources said. The overall production of these varieties, on an average, is to the tune of 1-1.5 lakh tonnes.

According to industry sources, if the commodity is exported below $300-$ 350 per tonne, farmers would be making huge losses forcing them to switch crops. If these varieties are exported at these rates, farmers would get Rs 4 per kg as against the cost of production of Rs 3.50 per kg, leaving a marginal profit.