The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday urged the government to allow vegetable imports from neighboring India across the Wagah border in light of the soaring prices of vegetables amid the continuing floods and unrelenting monsoon rains across the country.
Nauman Kabir, president of the LCCI, recently spoke with Geo News and requested the government to allow the import of vegetables from India to stabilize prices.
Tomato, onion, potato, and other vegetable crops were wiped out by the recent floods, he added, adding that the crisis is projected to last for another three months.
September, October, and November might be “quite difficult months” for the vegetable industry, he said.
Fresh produce from India will take a few days to cross the Wagah border into Pakistan.
As a result of the widespread flooding that was caused by the torrential rains, the price of vegetables has risen while grocery store vendors are demanding outrageous fees from customers.
The dealers are earning substantial gains despite the fact that the country’s economy has suffered a loss of ten billion dollars as a result of the persistent monsoon rains. The mortality toll from the storms has surpassed the mark of 1,100.
The information indicates that tomatoes are being offered for sale in the market at a price of Rs. 250 per kilogram, despite the fact that their official price is Rs. In a similar manner, the merchants are selling onions for between 300 and 320 rupees per kilogram, despite the fact that the authorities have the price of the commodity set at 290 rupees.
Potatoes are currently being sold at a price of Rs120 to Rs140 per kg, which is significantly higher than their official price of Rs100 per kg. The market price for ginger is 380 rupees per kilogram, even though the official price is 360 rupees per kilogram. Even though the market price for garlic is only Rs200 per kg, it is being sold for Rs250 per kg.
