Over 400 onion-laden Trucks stuck at JNPT & India-Bangladesh border

Nashik: More than 400 trucks carrying onions meant for export from Nashik have been stranded at various ports and along the border over the past couple of days.While 300 trucks are stranded at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai, 70 are stuck at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Janori in Nashik. Fifty other trucks are at the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal. Each truck contains 29 tonnes of produce.According to the Horticultural Produce Exporters' Association (HPEA), this situation has arisen because the Centre has not updated its Sept 13 order — on the removal of the minimum export price (MEP) and reduction in onion export duty — in the system of the customs department."The customs department's system has not been updated by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). We have approached the CBIC, and the board has assured us that it will update the system immediately," said Vikas Singh, the vice-president of HPEA.On Sept 13, the Centre removed the MEP of $550 per tonne and reduced export duty from 40% to 20%. The Centre had also issued a notification.Onion exporter Manoj Jain said: "The Centre immediately implements decisions on onion export ban, but it has failed to promptly implement the decision on the withdrawal of restrictions on onion export."Some exports also export onions from ICD as the customs clearance process is carried out there. The onions are later exported via JNPT. This saves them time and money at JNPT as they do not need to wait for customs procedures. ICD Janori is operated by HALCON, a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Container Corporation of India (CCI).Bharat Dighole, president of the Maharashtra onion farmers' association, said the Centre has not implemented its order even four days after it decided to remove the MEP and reduce export duty. "Many onion-laden trucks and containers are stranded. The Centre should immediately implement MEP removal and reduction in export duty on onions. Moreover, it should also waive the export duty," said Dighole.