Taliban ban: Bitter news for dry fruit eaters in India

The Taliban have banned the trade between India and Afghanistan after capturing the country's capital Kabul. India's imports of dry fruits from the country have now stopped. This is leading to a surge in the prices of dry fruits across the country. The prices of almonds have climbed to Rs 900 to 1,000 per kg from the earlier price of Rs 650 per kg.

Sirsa (Haryana): As soon as the Taliban captured Afghanistan, the atmosphere around the world has started changing. It is also affecting India. After capturing Afghanistan, the Taliban has banned the import and export with India. Ajay Sahai of the Federation of India Export Organization has also confirmed this recent development.

India exports sugar, tea, coffee, spices and other things to Afghanistan. While India imports dry fruits, onions, etc, from Afghanistan before the Taliban stopped this trade. Now the prices of dry fruits have started increasing in India. Its effect is being felt in Haryana as well. The prices of almonds have climbed to Rs 900 to 1,000 per kg from the earlier price of Rs 650 per kg. At the same time, the rates of figs coming from Afghanistan and pistachios from Peshawar are also skyrocketing.

With the festive season on the way, the rising inflation and surge in the prices of dry fruits are dampening the spirits of the dry fruit traders. The team of ETV Bharat spoke to some dry fruit traders of Sirsa on this issue. The dry fruits traders are very disappointed and claimed that the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan is directly affecting business.

One dry fruit seller said that the rate of almonds which was earlier Rs 650 per kg has now increased to Rs 900 to 1,000 per kg. He also added that along with almonds, the prices of other dry fruits like figs, pistachios, apricots, walnuts, etc have also increased. The shopkeeper said that due to the increase in the rate of dry fruits, his business has shrunk to only 20 per cent. He further added that they used to sell Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 worth of dry fruits daily and now the sale has dropped drastically to Rs 2,000 only.