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Lucknow sees spike in dry fruit prices as Taliban take over Afghanistan
Lucknow traders said that pistachio and raisin prices increased by about 30% while the cost of almonds has almost doubled in the last 20 days
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has led to a steep price rise of dry fruit and other items imported from the country. The price of dry fruit imported from Afghanistan has gone up by 30 to 50% within a fortnight, traders said.
“The rates of almonds have almost doubled in the last 20 days. Pistachio and raisin prices have also gone up by around 30%. The prices of dates are also increasing every day,” informed Rohit Ahuja, partner in a major wholesale store in Fatehganj, Lucknow.
Reportedly dry fruits and raisins worth 20 crore are imported every year in the state capital from Afghanistan. The produce is imported by firms in New Delhi and Maharashtra from where it is bought by local traders.
Currently, the price of a 1 kg of almonds in Lucknow has gone up to ₹1,050 from ₹600, pistachio prices have gone up to ₹2,100 a kg from ₹1,700 a kg, while the prices of raisins have risen to ₹800 a kg from ₹600 a few weeks ago. The spike in prices has led to a decline in demand in the last few days. “Shopkeepers who used to buy a kg of almonds from our shop every week, are not buying more than 250 grams now,” Ahuja said.
“The rise in prices of dry fruit will force the middle class to remove dry fruit from our kitchen. It is becoming difficult to manage the budget due to inflation and fewer earnings. How can we afford expensive dry fruit,” said Snehlata Singh, a homemaker in Gomti Nagar extension.
Besides home kitchens, sweet shops too are major consumers of dry fruit. “We are already under strain due to the rise in prices of ingredients. Now the increase in prices of dry fruit will make it more difficult for us to maintain quality of products without increasing rates,” said Vineet Gupta, owner of a nearly 200-year-old sweet shop in the Old City area.
Dry fruit traders fear that delay in Afghanistan returning to normalcy may further bump up the prices of dry fruit in the coming days. “The consumption of dry fruit goes up after the monsoon and during winter. If the condition in Afghanistan doesn’t improve by then, the rates of dry fruit will increase further,” said Suresh Dhiman, another dry fruit trader of the city.
