India Receives First Consignment of Dry Fruits from Afghanistan after Taliban’s Takeover

Traders of Dry Fruits & Spices in Mumbai & Delhi felt relieved as consignments of raisins, small pistachios, apricots, figs, asafoetida & shahi Jeera from Afghanistan that were lying in transit at the Wagah border have arrived in the market after the Indian Government showed a green flag.

With the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan, the import of onions, dry fruits and apples from this war-ridden country to India through the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at the Atari border were on hold. Though the consignments comprise only small quantities of dry fruits and spices, those will still help meet demand during upcoming festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri.

Indian Importers in Dilemma:

• After the Taliban’s takeover traders from India were unsure whether the dry fruits that were in transit will arrive in India or not. Fortunately, the consignments have arrived and the traders will be able to cater to the market.

• The importers had actually started to think of alternative countries like Turkey to bring the products to meet the market demand in India, although those are not at par in quality with the dry fruits from Afghanistan.

• Indian importers believe that the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan would lead to hike in the dry fruit prices in India as it has already gone up by 10 – 15% in the last fortnight, but might not have a severe impact on the trade in the long run, as consignments can be routed through Singapore, Dubai or elsewhere.

• Importers also believe that it is unlikely that the Taliban will put any curbs on the trade with India as it is a major revenue earner for the country.

India annually imports 36000 tonnes of dry fruits and spices from Afghanistan. A widely consumed spice in Indian kitchens, Asafoetida, also known as Hing was also bought from Afghanistan in raw form and then processed here for consumption.