4,720 sacks of onions unloaded from vessels

Cargo operations, which were halted due to adverse weather conditions, were resumed last night, with 4,720 sacks of onions unloaded from vessels as of now, Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) has said.

MPL said that port operations had been disrupted and goods left without unloading due to prevailing severe weather conditions. However, efforts through last night and this morning have resulted in perishable goods being unloaded from three vessels, the company said.

MPL Media Official said that more goods will be unloaded today as the weather permits, with 3,840 sacks of onions expected to be amongst goods unloaded.

To address onion shortages in the country, STO has also announced that they will be importing a stock of onions.

Currently, a sack of onions is priced at between MVR 450 and MVR 500 in the market. A kilo of onions is sold at between MVR 20 and MVR 30.

Maldives sources most of its onions from India at special rates. India has increased its onion export quota to Maldives by 56 percent this year.