Peshawar: : In a foggy weather, Muhammad Zakir (58) opens his dry fruits shop in morning at the bustling Firdus bazaar, hoping to attract customers for economic gains during the last days of winter.
As the cold wave gripped Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Zakir dressed in traditional attire with Chaddar and Chitali wollen cap, has brought huge stock of almonds, pistachios, cashews, figs, raisins, walnuts, and salted seeds, sourced both locally and from other countries to earn maximum profits in winter but disappointed.
"These days, most of the people just ask about prices of dry fruits and return empty handed due to exorbitant prices, forcing us to wait till late night with a hope to sell out all stock before an end of the winter to avert financial loss," Zakir who associated with dry fruits trade for the last 25 years said while asking co-labourers to offload peanuts bags in his two room shop at Firdus bazzar - the hub of dry fruits business in Peshawar City.
"On the onset of winter season in the past, the traders and businessmen mostly from northern districts of KP and Punjab come here for buying of dry fruits stock.' Zakir told reporter. He said that eight different almonds and peanuts' verities were transported by him as winter special offer, adding high-quality almonds imported from Afghanistan, are being sold at Rs 2,600 to Rs 3000 per kilogram.
'Keeping our consumers' demands, seven types of pistachios from Iran were imported but Akbari, Ahmadghai and Doda pistachios have a special taste selling at Rs3,600 per kilogram,' Zakir said.
'In KP's sub-zero temperatures, the human body needs warmth, and almonds, cashews, and other dry fruits are helpful for people especially for senior citizens to keep them warm for a longer period of time,' Professor Dr Sirzamin Khan, head of medical ward of the Government Hospital Nowshera told reporter.
He said dry fruits and walnuts are high in fat, which produces heat in body, and provide energy, protein, vitamins, and essential nutrients, thus making it a winter essential food in Pakistan.
Dr Sirzamin advised people to make dry fruits part of their food during winter to protect themselves and loved ones from winter bites.
Despite its significance, the alarming surge in dry fruit prices in Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda districts has raised significant concerns among the citizens, prompting them to call upon the district government to ensure its availability at reasonable rates and take strong action against price hikers and hoarders.
Riaz Khan, a former PST teacher was annoyed over the lackluster approach of the PTI government to regulate its prices besides maintained a close check on daily use items including dry fruits and vegetables, leaving millions of poor people at the mercy of price hikers and hoarders.
He lamented the rising prices of dry fruits in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that adversely affected people as well traders but emphasized their availability at affordable prices due to their disease-preventing properties and ability to keep the body warm and mind fresh.
Another trader, Karim Khan, whose family linked with the dry fruit business for the last 40 years at Chowk Yadgar dry fruits market, expressed worry about lack of sale of dry fruit this winter and demanded special loan packages for the affected traders.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistic (PBS), Pakistan imported more than 31,000 metric tons of dry fruits worth Rs5 billion ($17.745 million) between July-October 2023 primarily from Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Montenegro and Philippines to cater people's demands.
Professor Dr. Naeem Khattak, former Chairman, Political Economics Department, University of Peshawar said that Pakistan has ranked 99th out of 121 countries facing challenges of food insecurity, malnutrition, stunting and hunger due to population bulge, low agriculture productivity and climate change challenges. He claimed that unfortunately about 26% of annual food production, or around 20 million tons, which is valued at $4 billion are lost in Pakistan.
Dr Naeem said Pakistan carried highest per capita food waste in the world, at 212 kilograms per person per year which has direct impact on prices of dry fruits. He said the prices of dry fruits and vegetables have increased after the agriculture sector had suffered at USD $3.7 billion losses due to 2022 flood; adding approximately 14.6 million people need adequate food security and agricultural assistance in our country.
Similarly, about 20 percent of the country's population is undernourished, and nearly 45 percent of children younger than five years of age are stunted due to poverty, socioeconomic imbalances and unemployment.
He said unfortunately due to prevalent culture of extravagance and ostentation, particularly among the elite in Pakistan, where dry fruits is treated as a status symbol rather than a precious commodity and thus wasted massively.
He said it's high time to reassess our priorities and redefine what it means to truly value and respect of dry food. Dr Khattak underscored the need of tripartite agreements among Pakistan, India and Afghanistan to curb the smuggling of the dry fruits.
Muhammad Zahir Shah, KP Minister for Food said that an inclusive mechanism was put in place for monitoring and control of movement of dry fruits in border areas of the province.
He said that an online food price and control system was developed through which the citizens can check the daily prices of essential items and lodge complaints against overcharging vendors or hoarders on which prompt action is being taken.
PMRU is empowered to generate weekly reports regarding the set key performance indicators (KPIs) of price magistrates tasked with ensuring the real-time performance tracking of price magistrates through the KP Inspection Mobile App.
The district price control committees were notified with the powers to conduct price review meetings besides notifying fresh price lists of dry fruits, conventional fruits and vegetables for every district, including the merged areas.