New Delhi: After Sri Lanka, another neighboring country Pakistan is facing severe inflation. Earlier the prices of petrol and diesel increased wildly and now the fire of inflation is catching on in essential goods like vegetables.
According to Livemint, after a big increase in the prices of vegetables and fruits in many big cities including Lahore, and Islamabad, now the Pakistan government is planning to import onions-tomatoes from India. Market dealers say that due to the floods, crops have suffered a lot and the supply is getting less than the consumption. This is the reason why the prices of fruits and vegetables are increasing wildly in the retail market.
Alam is that on Sunday, the price of tomato had reached Rs 500 per kg and that of onion to Rs 400 in Lahore market. A wholesale trader in Lahore says that in some places it’s wholesale prices are around Rs 100, but on the way to the retail market, its price increases by four-five times. He said that due to the worsening flood situation in Balochistan, Sindh, and South Punjab, the production of vegetables has been affected in a big way and there is every possibility of a further increase in its prices in the coming days.
Price will reach Rs 700 a kg
Wholesale trader Jawad Rizvi says that in view of the serious flood situation and declining production, if no concrete steps are taken soon, then the prices of tomatoes and onions will reach Rs 700 per kg here. The prices of potatoes included in essential vegetables have also increased from Rs 40 to Rs 120 per kg.
Onion tomato will be ordered from the Bagha border
At present, onions and tomatoes come from Afghanistan through the Torkham border in Lahore and other cities of Punjab, but due to insufficient supply, the Pakistani government is now preparing to import them from India, which will be done from the Bagha border. Shahzad Cheema, secretary of the Lahore Market Committee, said that 100 containers of tomatoes and 30 containers of onions are procured daily from the Torkham border. Out of this, two tomatoes and one onion container are sent to Lahore city, which is in short supply compared to the demand.
Why India is the only option?
Actually, Pakistan is currently importing onion-tomato from Afghanistan, which is much less than its consumption. Pakistan also has an option to import vegetables from Iran, but this work has to be done from the Taftan border and the Iranian government has increased the tax on import-export. That is, it will be expensive to import from here to Pakistan, which is already suffering from severe inflation. In such a situation, India seems to be the best option for him.
