Dense fog today restricted the import of onion from Pakistan via Attari-Wagah land route as only 34 truck loads carrying 340 Metric Tonne (MT) of commodity could enter Indian territory at Amritsar.
This is against 60 trucks (600 MT) which crossed over yesterday.
Traders say less supply of crop from Pakistan could further delay containing the spiralling prices of bulb, particularly, in the northern region.
Retail rates of onion have not shown show any signs of declining in Punjab and the union territory.
"Against the expectation of 60 trucks of onion, just 34 trucks from Pakistan reached Amritsar today via Attari-Wagah land route because of heavy fog in the morning," a senior official of Customs Department at Amritsar told PTI.
According to a custom official, the movement of trucks started at 11:30am against the usual time of 8:30am as Pakistani truck drivers complained of zero visibility from Lahore till Amritsar.
"Since the entry on trucks is allowed till 1:30pm, the supply of onion through trucks reduced significantly due to fog and mist," he said.
Since the commencement of import of onion from Pakistan, close to 1,500 MT of onion has arrived at Amritsar through Attari-Wagah land route.
Despite supply of onion from Pakistan, retail rates of onion continued to remain between Rs60 to 80 a kg in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Chandigarh, traders said.
Because of increasing demand of onion, the cost of import for the commodity has risen sharply to Rs30 a kg from Rs18 a kg five days back.
"Currently, new import orders for onion are being booked at Rs30 a kg," said vegetable importer Rajdeep Uppal.
Centre has already abolished custom duty on import of onion as part of its measures to rein in prices.
