Traders, who have been asked by the State Government to sell the stock, claimed that at least 75 per cent of the stock was rotten. Said Chimanbhai Patel, Ahmedabad APMC chairman, ``Only 25 per cent of the stock is in good condition. Since the consignment arrived by sea, damp weather must have affected the onions. ``Besides, delay in customs clearance at Mumbai might have set the rot in the consignment.''

Patel ruled out the possibility that such ``rotten'' onions will help ease the price rise and availability. Even as blackened sacks of rotten onions lay in the marketyard and traders raised a stink about it, no one from the State Government received theconsignment.

Ahmedabad APMC secretary N I Chhasatia, rushed to the marketyard and inspected the consignment. He said so far, 11 trucks had arrived and the remaining 29-odd would arrive in a day or two. He also said another 3,000 tonnes of onions, now under the Open General Licence (OGL), were being imported by Ahmedabad traders and would reach here by 15-20 days.

The wholesale price of onions at Ahmedabad APMC today was recorded at Rs 300-500 per 20 kgs, and retail at Rs 15-20. APMC sources said onion prices had remain unaffected under the Gujarat Essential Articles-Dealers Regulation Act, a day after the State Government brought it in its purview, along with potato and salt.

Another trader, Haribhai Patel, said if the imported onions had arrived in good condition, they would have pulled down the prices by Rs 100 per 20 kgs. He said the traders would have to bear the labour cost. Another trader, Nazir Bagban, said they would have to bear the cost of disposing of the rotten onions. ``The labourers arerefusing to lift the stinking rotten onion sacks,'' he said. When told of the rotten onions, R M Joshi, Director (Food) said that he would bring it to the notice of the Food and Drug Control Administration.