Increase in vegetable prices irk people

KABUL (TOLOnews): Kabul residents said the prices of vegetables have tripled over the last few weeks, making it hard to afford its purchase.
The residents asked the Islamic Emirate to have control over the price.
“The government should control the prices and set a price cap for them,” said Mujtaba, a resident of Kabul.
“The prices of vegetables have soared. It is hard for us to purchase it because there is no job,” said Shah Hussain, a Kabul resident. Vendors in Kabul said the recent floods and the damage to farmlands have caused the increase in vegetable prices in local markets.
“It is because of the drought. Some parts of the country have faced floods, that’s why farming is low this year and the prices are high,” said Ahmad Shah, a vendor.
“Compared to the past, the prices are high right now, people have lost their jobs, unemployment is high and we don’t have more customers,” said Gul Zaman, a shopkeeper in Kabul.
But the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock said the prices of vegetables in local markets have increased due to the high cost of fertilizers.
“Today, a bag of fertilizer costs 6,500 to 7,000 afghanis while it was 1,500 to 2,000 Afs in the past. If our farmers pay more for the fertilizer, their production will inevitably cost them higher,” said Mirwais Hajizada, the deputy head of the chamber of agriculture and livestock.
This comes as Pakistan recently increased the imports of vegetables from Afghanistan while decreasing its tariffs on imported vegetables to zero percent.