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| More than 80% of the onion crop in Sindh has been destroyed due to floods |
The agriculture sector has been the most affected in the damage caused by floods in Pakistan. In Sindh and Balochistan, cotton and rice crops have been damaged, and fruit and vegetable growing areas have been flooded, and their production has been severely affected.
After the floods in the four provinces of Pakistan, on the one hand, various crops were damaged, along with this, the prices of vegetables and fruits have increased tremendously due to the blockage of the roads due to the floods.
An increase in the prices of all vegetables has been recorded, but the highest increase was seen in the price of onion and tomato, whose prices have increased by 200 to 400 percent. After the increase in the prices of onion and tomato, there has been a proposal from the importers and traders of fruits and vegetables in the country to import them from India.
In this regard, the representative organization of traders has advised the government to allow the import of tomatoes and onions from India for two months to increase its supply and stabilize the prices.
Why was it suggested to import tomatoes and onions from India?
The proposal to import tomatoes and onions from the neighboring country was made at a meeting of the Federal Ministry of Commerce in which the recent rains affecting the production of vegetables and the shortage in the market were considered.
In the meeting, Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Importers Exporters Merchants Association immediately allowed the import of onions and tomatoes from India for a period of three months in addition to duty and tax exemption for market stability. Suggested.
Patron Chief of the Association, Waheed Ahmed, says that more than 80% of the onion crop in Sindh has been destroyed by the flood, while the tomato crop has also been severely damaged. Similarly, in Balochistan, during the onion season, the crop has been destroyed due to stormy rains and floods.
He said that to meet the demand of onions and tomatoes in the country, these vegetables will have to be imported from India.
He said that the potato crop has already reached the warehouses, so there is no need to import it, while there is no need to import other vegetables such as brinjal, zucchini, okra, etc. On the other hand, their production in Pakistan has been affected but not ended, while on the contrary, the whole crop of onion and tomato has been affected.
Waheed Ahmed told The Time News Today that deals will be started from Tuesday to import onions and tomatoes from other countries, but permission to import from India has not yet been received.
Prime Minister's Coordinator for Trade in Pakistan Rana Ehsan Afzal says that according to his information, no such decision has been taken yet and the decision will be taken which will be in the interest of the country.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto also spoke to journalists on the occasion of issuing the emergency appeal of the government of Pakistan and the United Nations for the flood victims on Tuesday and said that currently no decision has been taken on the restoration of trade with India.
In a tweet on Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief over the flood devastation in Pakistan and hoped that the situation in Pakistan would return to normal soon.
According to The Time News Today correspondent Shakeel Akhtar, after Prime Minister Modi's expression of sympathy, there is a discussion in some circles in India whether India should help Pakistan in these difficult situations.
Well-known Indian analyst Nirupama Subramanian wrote on Twitter that during the floods in Pakistan in 2010, India had given two million dollars to the United Nations Pakistan Emergency Fund and five million dollars through the World Food Program. Bar will also come forward to help Pakistan in the hour of difficulty?
It should be noted that trade between Pakistan and India has been closed since August 2019, when Pakistan imposed a complete ban on trade with India in response to the change in the constitutional status of Indian-administered Kashmir, which is still in place.
Can imported tomatoes and onions reduce prices?
The reason for the increase in the prices of tomatoes and onions in Pakistan is due to their affected production due to floods, due to which their prices have increased.
The monthly consumption of onion in Pakistan is 150,000 tons and the monthly consumption of tomato is 50,000 tons, while after the flood, the price of onion increased by 100 to 150 rupees and the price of tomato by 200 to 250 rupees in the wholesale market.
Waheed Ahmed says that if imported onions and tomatoes do not come, these prices will increase further. He said that tomato and onion crops were damaged in Punjab and Sindh and if import from India is opened for a limited period, the benefit will be in the form of price reduction.
He said that according to the information received from India, there is an increase in the production of tomatoes and onions and one kilo of tomatoes is available at Rs 15, which will be very cheap in Pakistan even after import and transport costs.
Fruit and vegetable trader Suleiman Khawaja told The Time News Today that the price of tomatoes and onions may decrease more after the import from India because the price has decreased after the arrival of onions from Iran and if If onions and tomatoes also come from India, the price can be reduced further.
He said that after 50 to 90 days after the flood water recedes in Pakistan, the land is dry and then it can become arable. Tomato and onion crop cannot be sown till that time and during this time in the price to the consumers Shortage can be taken advantage of only by importing vegetables.
In this situation, a question was also circulating that whether the reason for the recent increase in vegetable prices is only due to shortage of supply or hoarding is also involved.
Speaking to The Time News Today in this regard, Zahid Awan, Chairman of the Traders Association in Karachi Vegetable Market, said that the main reason for the large increase in the price of vegetables and fruits is the destruction of crops due to floods, because in the areas where Vegetables and crops were also saved and there are big difficulties in their delivery at this time.
He said that in this situation illegal profits are being made by the retailers, but black market can be very less in vegetables and fruits because no vegetables and fruits except potatoes and apples are kept in warehouses for a long time. can be kept
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