Dry fruit prices may rise marginally if uncertainty in Afghan persists

Volume of imports may not go down as much as to affect India's domestic consumption requirements

India largely imports dry fruits from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Traders say that their prices may go up due to uncertainty in the market. Ajay Sahai, director general and CEO of exporters body FIEO, however is of the view that volume of imports may not go down as much as to affect the country's domestic consumption requirements, but speculations may lead to price rise. Besides, India imports dry fruits from other markets as well, including the US, he said. However, replacing Afghan produce with that from the US would increase freight cost due to distance and tariff would also be higher since New Delhi has preferential tariff agreement with Kabul. This may lead to marginal price rise only, Sahai says. However, he believes that the situation in Afghanistan may come under control in 15 days to a month. In value terms, India's imports from Afghanistan is miniscule, constituting just 0.13 per cent of our total inbound shipments in 2020-21. India's exports to Afghanistan is also not much to talk about, accounting for merely 0.28 per cent during the year.