Vegetable prices skyrocket in parts of Pakistan; Govt may turn to India
In Lahore's markets, tomatoes and onions were selling at around Rs 500 and Rs 400 a kilogram. Jawaad Rizvi, a wholesale dealer of Lahore market, said that both vegetables were being sold at Rs 100 per kg cheaper in Sunday markets than those available in regular markets.
FollowThe Pakistan government may import tomatoes and onions from India amid a massive surge in the prices of fruits and vegetables in Lahore and other parts of Punjab province triggered by the devastating floods.
In Lahore's markets, tomatoes and onions were selling at around Rs 500 and Rs 400 a kilogram. Jawaad Rizvi, a wholesale dealer of Lahore market, said that both vegetables were being sold at Rs 100 per kg cheaper in Sunday markets than those available in regular markets.
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Rizvi believes that commodity prices will increase sharply in the days to come as the floods had badly impacted the supply of vegetables from Sindh, Balochistan and south Punjab.
The prices of onion and tomato may cross Rs 700 per kg in the coming days. Similarly, the price of potatoes too has increased to Rs 120 per kg from Rs 40 per kg. Vegetables like capsicum or bell pepper are also short in the market due to the floods.
The floods have destroyed crops on thousands of acres in Balochistan and Sindh. According to reports, the federal government may consider the option of importing tomatoes and onion from India through the Wagah border. Currently, the cities of Punjab and Lahore are receiving their supply of tomato and onion from Afghanistan via the Torkham border.
Lahore Market Committee Secretary Shehzad Cheema said that out of the 100 containers of tomato and around 30 loaded with onion received at the Torkham border daily, just two containers of tomato and one of onion have been reaching Lahore city daily.
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Cheema said the government would eventually import tomatoes and onion from India as import of vegetables from Iran via the Taftan border (Balochistan) was not viable considering that Tehran had increased taxes on its imports and exports.
With most of the orchards in Sindh being ravaged by the floods, the prices of dates and bananas are also expected to go up in the coming days. Floods in parts of Pakistan have claimed over 1,000 lives, with 74 deaths being reported from Sindh, 31 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), four in Balochistan and one in Punjab.
