Record price hike: Sale of dry fruit decreases by almost 50pc

Islamabad : The sale of dry fruit has decreased by almost 50 per cent as compared to last year due to record-high prices that are keeping customers away from the shops.

According to the information obtained from the shopkeepers doing business in different markets of Islamabad, the sale of dry fruit is still too low despite the cold weather conditions in the last week of November.

The peanuts are being sold in the markets at Rs500 to 700; grams at Rs350 kg; almonds at Rs1,400 to Rs2,600 per kg; pistachio at Rs2,700 kg; walnut at Rs1,200 to Rs2,000 kg; dried-up dates at Rs400 kg to 500; pine nuts at Rs5,500 kg; cashew at Rs2,500 to 3,200 while dried apricots are being sold at the price of Rs1,400 to Rs2,000 per kg.

Nasim Durrani, a shopkeeper, said “The prices of dry fruit are high because they grow only in particular regions of the world. Dry fruit like cashews, almonds, and dates grow only in hot tropical areas, and a lot of money is spent to bring them to open markets of the country.”

The people belonging to the middle class cannot buy dry fruit due to high prices. The majority of the population is working round-the-clock just to make both ends meet let alone the purchase of dry fruit at high prices.

Tahir Achakzai, a shopkeeper, said “We have no role in the increase of prices of dry fruit as price hike is a general phenomenon that is affecting all sectors of the economy. The low number of customers is visiting our shops and also few of them buy any item.”

“If the same situation continues for a few more weeks then we will certainly face financial losses. The customers lack purchasing power but we also cannot sell our items at low prices,” he said.­