PESHAWAR: As the winter has arrived the prices of the dry fruits have soared in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hence people are unable to afford the traditional winter dishes.
According to reports, the demand of dry fruits is on the rise with the cold weather, making the prices of the fruits to inflate extremely in the local market.
In Peshawar, the cost of pine nuts (chilgoza) has soared to 10000 to 12000 per kilogram with a single pine nut selling at 200 around. There is a sharp increment in the prices of other dry fruits as well-peanuts costing between Rs600 and Rs800 per kilogram, almonds at Rs3,000 and pistachios costing 4,000 per kilogram are being sold.
Of all, the most purchased dry fruit is the peanuts as the temperatures are dropping.
The world is in need of approximately five million tonnes of dry fruits per annum, and Pakistan exports almost one million tonnes of the dry fruits per annum. Swat, Chitral, and Gilgit-Baltistan are the large dry fruit production and export areas of the country.
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A big percentage of the dry fruits sold in the markets of Peshawar are said to be smuggled into the country allegedly inspired by Iran, Afghanistan, and India. The most critical trading centres of these products are Karkhano Market, Peoples Mandi, and Ashraf Road but the local authorities have kept most quiet on the matter, traders argue.
