LAHORE: As prices of vegetables and fruits are soaring up on a daily basis due to the damage caused to local crops by monsoon spells and floods, calls for opening trade routes with neighbouring countries for the sake of the consumers are also gaining momentum.

After government circles and some chambers, Tehreek-i-Istaqlal has also urged that Indian trade routes should also be opened like Iran and Afghanistan for swift supply of vegetables and fruits.

Party president Rehmat Khan Wardag said here on Wednesday the government should use all avenues to provide relief to the consumers as onion and tomato prices have crossed Rs400 per kg mark.

He said that vegetables and fruit supplies in the shortest time were possible only from the neighbouring countries and as the government had already decided to open Iran and Afghan borders, it should also allow opening of Wagah border for importing kitchen items from India to bring down vegetables prices immediately.

He regretted that the PTI during its rule kept ignoring motorways as well as other CPEC projects and when the Sukkur-Moro section of the National Highway was submerged by floods, vegetables supplies from Karachi and interior Sindh were affected.

He said if the motorway section had been constructed, its higher platform would have provided a refuge to the flood victims.

TOBA TEK SINGH: Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Atif Munir urged the government to act swiftly to retain the vegetable supply chain. He said trade with the neighboring countries was vital to reduce transportation charges.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2022