Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Vegetable and fruit prices have gone up across Pakistan because of heavy rains that have destroyed crops ...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Vegetable and fruit prices have gone up across Pakistan because of heavy rains that have destroyed crops and cut off supplies. This is an early sign that the worst floods in decades will cause food shortages at a time when the economy is in trouble.
Pakistan has 220 million people. In July, consumer prices were up 24.9% from the same month last year. The economy is in chaos, with foreign reserves that are running out quickly and the rupee falling to a record low against the U.S. dollar.
That makes the country especially vulnerable as it figures out how much it will cost to fix the damage caused by the heavy monsoon rains that have killed more than 1,100 people since August.
Damage to homes and infrastructure will cost billions of dollars, and losses in the important farming industry haven't been fully calculated yet.
Some vegetables have tripled in price in the eastern city of Lahore, which is close to the border with India and far from Sindh province's worst floods.
"Last week, I sold onions for 90 rupees per kilogramme, but the government price is now 300 rupees per kilogramme," said Ahmad Ali, who sells vegetables. Some prices for fresh food in Pakistan are set by the government, but traders often don't follow the rules.
Tomatoes and onions are two of the most common foods used in Pakistani cooking, and each month, tens of thousands of tonnes of each are eaten.
"Because of the flood, rain, and damage to the roads, Lahore is getting less and less fruit and vegetables every day," said Malik Salim Awan, who sells at Lahore's fruit and vegetable market.
"Before what's happening now, we were getting more than 100 trucks of fresh produce every day. We only get 10 to 15 trucks now, "Awan said.
Officials say that more than 2 million acres (809,371 hectares) of farmland have been flooded, killing most of the crops that were already there and making it impossible for farmers to plant new ones.
WAREHOUSES EMPTYING
People have to clean up their flooded homes and worry about where their next meal will come from hundreds of miles from Lahore.
"Tomatoes used to cost 60 rupees a kilo, but now they cost more than 200," said Sain Bukash Husain, 20, whose house in the village of Garhi Yasin in the southern province of Sindh was badly damaged.
What should we do?
Sindh, which has 50 million people, has been hit the hardest. So far in the monsoon season, it has rained 697 mm, which is 466% more than the 30-year average. Overall, Pakistan has had nearly 190% more rain than the average for the past 30 years.
In Dera Ismail Khan, near the Indus River in central Pakistan, warehouses that used to store vegetables are already getting empty.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government is in a hurry to get supplies.
After visiting northern Pakistan, Sharif told reporters, "The rice crop was washed away." "Fruit and vegetables are gone." He said that 700,000 animals had been lost because of the floods.
Pakistan's agrarian sector drives the economy and feeds the people. It makes up more than a fifth of the country's output, employs up to 40% of the workforce, and makes goods worth about $80 billion each year.
Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar said on Wednesday that the government was close to a deal to import vegetables and other food from Iran and Afghanistan, and an urgent request had been sent to the cabinet to approve it.
"Prices are already going up. You wouldn't get it if you went to buy onions. If you want to buy tomatoes, you will have to pay a lot more "Qamar said at a news conference that the floods had made things worse.
