By Sant Kumar Sharma
Jammu, October 14: The festival season is here upon us with people thronging the markets in large numbers as if virtually nothing has happened. Drowning all care about the pandemic, which seems to have gone on a long sleep a la Kumbhkarn of the Ramayana fame, markets are abuzz with activity. Fruits of various types, be it the best quality pears, or the apples from Kashmir as also Kullu, have flooded the mandis.
The prices of dry fruits like almonds, walnuts, kishmish, chilgoza etc are on the higher side this time. But that is no deterrent to the spirit of the buyers as also vendors who have given up any hopes of any Afghan products being available during the festivals. The vendors have sourced their needs of the festival season already, calculating quickly that any hopes of the Afghan products softening up the prices is unrealistic.
What were the Afghan fruits and dry fruits that were usually available in the markets at this festival time last year? Well, premium quality fruits and dry fruits, of a wide range, be it top quality succulent pomegranates, sarda (a type of melon), kishmish, badaam etc were available all over north India, and beyond. But that was last year and hardly any fruits or dry fruits sourced from Afghanistan are reaching the Indian markets.
Some discerning vendors, as also customers, are missing the top quality pomegranates imported in bulk from Afghanistan around this time. Pomegranates from Maharashtra, as also grapes, are available aplenty usually in most parts of India. What vies with them and gives them tough competition is these products sourced from Afghanistan.
In southern parts of Afghanistan, the most famous being Kandhar province, pomegranate is a major crop that fetches jobs for thousands, and brings in hard cash. According to some conservative estimates, over 15,000 casual workers, who used to work in pomegranate gardens have been laid off. This is because there is no movement of pomegranates across various check posts along border with Pakistan.
In normal times, hundreds of trucks laden with freshly picked up and packed pomegranates, used to make a beeline for Pakistani posts. It is widely feared that the coming weeks and months may see thousands of tons of pomegranates rotting, some in trucks, and others in the orchards themselves. Who needs to pick up pomegranates if they cannot be sold and shipped away to lucrative markets? These pomegranates usually reached Pakistan mandis, and via Wagah Attari border (through Amritsar) reached Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and other cities, including Jammu and Srinagar.
Speaking about Kandhari anar, Sanjeev Sharma says: Qualitywise, the pomegranates imported from Afghanistan were really top class, best of the best, so to say. The ascension of the Taliban has disrupted the supply chain badly and caused losses running into crores to Afghan traders. Those dealing in dry fruits can hope to recover some money on stocks lying with them but those dealing in fresh fruits have been really hit hard.
About the Indian markets, Sachin Dev Vashishth, who deals in online business of saffron, and dry fruits, says: The markets did not receive any imports from Afghanistan and that has led to a spurt in prices. We have now readjusted ourselves to the new realities. However, my heart goes out to the labourers who were dependent on this seasonal employment. Picking up and packing pomegranate and other fruits from orchards in Afghanistan. It is the poor who always suffer the worst, be it India or Afghanistan.
