Islamabad :
The government has decided to facilitate the import of onions and tomatoes from Iran and Afghanistan to meet the demand in the country, maintain price stability and ensure availability in the market.
On behalf of the government, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of National Food Security and Research and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will work together to finalize the import procedures.
In an important meeting held today in this regard, the government agreed that the import of onion and tomato will help stabilize the prices of these commodities and ensure availability of these commodities in the market.
In the meeting presided over by Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, it was also decided to submit proposals in the next meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet to exempt the levies and duties imposed on the import of tomatoes and onions. .
During the meeting, it was informed that imports from Iran and Afghanistan will have minimal negative impact on valuable foreign exchange reserves as there are special trade arrangements with these countries.
During the meeting, it was also observed that the country will face shortage of tomatoes and onions during the next 3 months while the recent floods have caused heavy damage to the crops, resulting in a huge increase in prices and these There is a shortage of goods.
Presiding over the meeting, Naveed Qamar said that immediate steps should be taken to ensure the availability of tomatoes and onions to the consumers while every effort should be made to stabilize the prices of these commodities.
The Ministry of Commerce is in touch with the foreign governments through trade advisers and trade attachés so that arrangements can be made in the shortest possible time.
The Ministry of National Food Security and Research, in collaboration with all stakeholders, will continuously monitor the food security situation and take steps to ensure food availability in the country.
It should be noted that according to Radio Pakistan yesterday, Miftah Ismail said in a press conference in Islamabad in response to a question that the government may consider importing vegetables and other food items from India for the convenience of the people because of the recent Crops have been destroyed across the country due to floods.
The finance minister said that due to the shortage, prices of vegetables have increased significantly, and he has discussed the issue with the commerce secretary and the finance secretary and will bring the plan to the prime minister in a day or two. will go.
He said that we will open duty free imports, I also want to say that we will consider imports through land route with India as prices of vegetables are volatile.
Miftah Ismail said that he is generally in favor of farmers earning money and does not want to open imports, but this is an “exceptional situation” and trade with India can be opened if necessary.
It should be noted that according to the report of the Dawn newspaper, due to the destruction of crops due to floods in Balochistan and Sindh and the reduction of supply in the markets, the prices of tomatoes have increased significantly in the market of Karachi and the price of one kilo of tomato is 480 rupees, while the price of onion is Rs. 200 per kg has reached Rs.
A consumer had told Dawn that a kilo of tomato was being sold at Rs 480 per kilo in a well-known super store in Gulshan Iqbal.
Along with this, capsicum is being sold at Rs 320 per kg, gourd at Rs 200 per kg and torai at Rs 160 per kg, while the price of cabbage has reached Rs 240 per kg, besides cucumbers at Rs 200 per kg, greens. Coriander and mint are being sold at Rs 30 per kg while okra is being sold at Rs 250 to 320 per kg.
