AHMEDABAD: It was shocking not only for farmers but also for the traders at Gujarat’s Gondal Agriculture Produce Market Cooperative (Gondal-APMC) when a trader reached the market yard with 750kg of Chinese garlic.Traders immediately drew the attention of the market management committee. The garlic stock was seized and the trading was stopped. The incident has been reported to the state and Central governments.Gondal APMC chairman Alpesh Dholeriya told the media that a trader had informed the committee about the Chinese garlic being brought to the market for trading. The management committee members and officials seized 30 bags of the vegetable and informed the government.Dholeriya said Chinese garlic imports have been banned in India since 2014.”How it made it do the Gondal Market is puzzling,” he added.Trader Ramnikbhai Vaghasiya raised the alarm about the smuggled garlic being traded on Friday. “From the size and colour of the garlic, we recognised that it was not a domestic product and immediately informed the management committee,” said Vaghasiya.On Friday, some 2,000 bags of domestic garlic were traded in the Gondal market yard in the price band between Rs 3,600 and R 5,500 for 20kg, meaning that per kilo the rate was between Rs 275 and 288, said Hitesh Savaliya, assistant secretary of the market yard.Traders told the media that smuggled garlic’s price was comparatively cheaper than the domestic produce. This helps smugglers and their local agents make profits on smuggled goods.Citing prices in February, traders said in the retail market, the per kg price touched Rs 300-350 in many cities of the country. To exploit such situations, smugglers get active.
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