With the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan, the import of onions, dry fruits and apples from this war-torned country to India through the Integrated Check post (ICP) at the Attrai border has banned. As a result, the price of dry fruits rose.
President of the Federation of Karyana and Dry Food Association said “The consignments of Dry Fruit from Afghanistan are currently not coming to India because the Taliban have taken control of Chaman and Torkham borders. Every year, dry fruits worth Rs.2000 crore were imported by India from Afghanistan. About 50% of them were bought by Indian traders. We know that the Taliban have promised not to disrupt any trade activities on transit routes. The situation will get clear in the next 15 days.”
“Previously, about 35 trucks used to arrive at the Wagah-Attari border from Afghanistan via Pakistan every day. The price of dry fruits in each truck would cost around Rs.40 lakhs to Rs.60 lakhs. Afghan almonds are now becoming expensive. Their prices have risen from Rs.850 to Rs.1000 per kilogram, and the prices of Figs and pista have also risen," he said.
Mehra said "Old almonds were hardly sold out and the new ones are already in the market. We expect the price to go up because it has already increased by Rs.150 per kilogram. Once trading will resume, only then we will get to know the actual price of new supply.”
Another trader said that as the festive season is approaching, they are expecting the situations to improve. “Because dry fruits are perishable, no agreement has been reached so far to import dry fruits via air or sea,” he added.
According to customs department sources, it takes about a week for a truck to reach the Attari ICP from Afghanistan. Few trucks arrived few days ago, but the number was very less. An official said "There may be some problems with documentations, because trucks carrying valid certificates from the Afghan government may not be recognized by the Taliban."
Since the Pulvama terrorist attack in 2019, the trade at the ICP trade has been gradually diminishing. Before the incident, the worth of the trade was Rs.2767 crore which dipped to Rs.2500 crore in 2020-2021. India ceased trade with Pakistan after repealing Article 370 in August 2019.
