July 27, Colombo: With the opening of the Jaffna – Kandy A-9 highway following the end of war, the red onion harvest of Jaffna is reaching south, a Sri Lankan radio Neth FM reported.

The farmers bring their harvest to Dambulla Special Economic Center, a major wholesale food market in the country, to obtain better prices, the radio said.

Around 100,000 kilos of red onion reach the economic center these days. The purchasing price from farmers at the center is around Rs. 55 per kilo.

Jaffna farmers are well known for onion cultivation and Jaffna red onion had a good demand from south. However, the war prevented the commodity to reach south for many years due to road blocks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam that ruled the northern region of the country.