The Pakistani government has decided not to relax the conditions to import tomato from India even after the shortage in Punjab and other parts aggravated.
However, efforts have been made to import it from Iran and Afghanistan instead of India.
Anticipating some relaxation from Islamabad, Indian vegetable exporters have been bringing an ample supply of tomato to Amritsar to export it to Pakistan once the quarantine laws are relaxed.
Rajdeep Upal, an exporter from India, said almost 300 to 350 trucks of tomatoes were arriving in Amritsar, which is much higher than the demand, Pakistani newspaper The News International reported on its website on Tuesday.
Secretary of Market Committee in Lahore Shahzad Cheema said daily demand of Lahore division is almost 50 trucks while supply is not increasing to 20 trucks.
“We are trying to bring tomatoes from other channels from Afghanistan and Iran.”
About 136,500 tons of tomatoes worth 1.14 trillion rials ($35 million) were exported from Iran during the five months to August 22, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration’s latest data show.
With close to $25 million worth of purchases, Iraq was the biggest export destination followed by Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Argentina, the UAE, Turkmenistan, Oman, Russia, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kuwait and Georgia, Mizan Online reported.
Add new comment
Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints