Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP) 

Bengaluru, Aug 28: After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, import export transactions of that country have come to a standstill. This has cast a huge impact on the dry fruits trade in India, where prices of most of the products have moved skyward.

India used to get high quality figs, apricots, several types of raisins, pine nuts and small size almonds etc from Afghanistan. After the Taliban took over the export market, computer systems, documents, staff etc there is no clarity. A dealer, Mohammed Mukhtar, says that no one knows how far this uncertainty lasts.

Now the future dealings with Afghanistan will depend on the foreign policy the Indian government adopts. As India depends on Afghanistan for the supply of four major dry fruits, the business might resume soon. There is also provision to get things imported through Dubai but rates will go up further.

India gets 90 percent of almonds from California where the rate has gone up from Rs 550 per kg in the wholesale market to Rs 1,000. In recent days the prices have seen a decline of Rs 100 and it is now sold at Rs 900. But this does not have any connection with the Afghanistan crisis. It is said that because of Covid, ships carrying almonds got stranded and therefore there is a delay of four months to receive the stock. As shipping has started now, in 25 days, the rate is expected to go down a bit. Pistachio price has also gone up because of problems with ship movement although this comes from Iran. It is also said that dry fruit merchants, knowing that imports from Afghanistan will be delayed, have jacked up prices.