Islamabad:- Tomatoes are being sold at Rs 600 per kg in Pakistan. This price is in Pakistani rupees. Earlier, they were being sold at Rs 50-100 per kg. This means that the prices have increased by about 400 percent. The reason for the increase in tomato prices is the tension with Afghanistan. Border crossings like Torkham and Chaman have been closed since October 11, disrupting trade.
Tomato trucks coming from Afghanistan are stranded, disrupting the supply chain to cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. About 5,000 containers are stranded on both sides.
Meanwhile, rains and floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh have damaged crops, and the weather has delayed harvesting. Only 15-20 trucks of tomatoes are arriving daily in Lahore’s Badami Bagh market, down from 30 earlier.
Balochistan’s crop is running out, and imports from Iran have also declined. This has further widened the supply-demand gap. In some areas, wholesalers and retailers have taken advantage of weak monitoring to increase prices, resulting in retail prices being double the wholesale price.
Muhammad Imran, a tomato seller in Islamabad, said that supplies from Afghanistan have completely stopped. Now, they are coming from Iran, Sindh and Quetta. The supply has come down drastically.
Earlier, 80 to 120 trucks of tomatoes used to arrive daily from Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Shan Masih, a customer at Islamabad’s G-9 vegetable market, said, “We cannot understand what has happened. Tomatoes are used in every meal, and we are struggling.” Buyer Nusrat Jahan said she bought a kilogram of tomatoes for Rs 400.