July 02, 2007	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 16, 1428

ISLAMABAD, July 1: Prices of fruit and vegetable have surged in Sindh as the Coastal Highway and other supply lines have been badly damaged by heavy rains, making it difficult for perishable edibles to reach the market, sources told Dawn on Sunday.

The rains have also severely damaged the late varieties of mangoes in Punjab and Sindh.

Vegetable and fruit prices, it is feared, may further rise in Sindh in the coming days.

On Saturday, some middlemen from Peshawar had to start transporting tomatoes to Karachi by air by paying higher fare charges of Rs80 per 12-kg crate.

Over the last two weeks, tomato was being sold in Peshawar at Rs10-12 per kg, but its prices went up in Sindh after the major supply line, the Coastal Highway, was severely damaged. At present tomatoes are being sold in Karachi at Rs80 to Rs100 per kilogram.

“These are the days for the middleman to mint money. Even by paying such higher air charges the suppliers from Peshawar will still earn more than Rs50 per kg,” said a vegetable dealer.

Sources said the federal agriculture ministry had predicted increase in vegetable and fruit prices in Punjab, Islamabad, the NWFP and Balochistan in the coming weeks as the rains further minimised the life-span of these perishable items.

It may be mentioned that heavy monsoon rains had washed away cotton on more than 300,000 acres in southern Punjab and upper Sindh last year.