Karachi: Exporters have criticised the Pakistan government’s decision of banning onion exports till May 30, saying it will result in major financial losses due to the perishable nature of the produce.

All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) Patron-in-Chief Waheed Ahmed in a letter to Commerce Advisr Abdul Razak Dawood on Thursday said the country has surplus quantity of onion to ensure price stability in the market and a ban on its export would deprive from foreign exchange earnings.

He said onion exporters have already received advance payments from foreign buyers and after the sudden ban, they are unable to honor their commitment which would hit their credibility.

Ahmed claimed the onion exporters had procured sizable quantities for export from the growers as per orders from foreign buyers.

Current Sindh crop coupled with arrival of Balochistan’s produce shortly would create surplus in the markets which would definitely bring down prices but this would hurt the growers by depriving them of reasonable profit, he said.

According to him, the government should have given 10 days before imposing a ban on exports and it should have been implemented in different phases, as done in India recently.