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By: Shamsuddin Muhammad GILGIT, October:There constant decline in prices of indigenous cash crops like that of Potatoes, pumpkins, tomatoes, carrot and fresh fruits: apple, pear and grape has obscured any good hope to earn even the same price on which these salable items were sold last year. According to statistics available from different commercial points, prices of cash crops especially Potatoes and carrots, the main crops that majority of population of Gilgit Baltistan rely as the second main source of their very survival have been declined for last two months. In the month of July this year,when indigenous agri production starts; the price of Potato and tomato in the local veritable markets in Gilgit-Baltistan could stabilize at the highest level, former at PRK 16 per kilogram (660 per 40 kg) and later at 35 per kilograme in whole sale till the end of August. While the retail prices of the two were recorded as potato Rs.18 per kilogram and tomato 38 to 40 respectively. Similarly, the price of potato and tomato during this tenure in down city markets, Lahore and Rawalpindi on whole sale were: Rs.35 per kg (1400 per 40 Kg) and Rs.52 per kilogram respectively.
GILGIT: Potatoes via a small vehicles were being shifted from Nalter, one of the most beautiful place in GB to main vegitable market and then to down cities. Unstable prices of cash crops have further reduced the standard of living of the poor farmer class. Image by ShamsYet, the tendency of rapid decline in prices observed since the second week of August when cash crops from lower regions of Khyber Pakhtoon Khawa (KPK) i.e Abotabad, Mansehra and Central Punjab started to reach to veritable market on one hand and imports from India to fill the demand and supply equation, thus reducing the price in the region to a substantial lower price. Currently, the price of same crop in various parts of Gilgit-Baltistan region, popular for the production of potato and tomato vegetables like Naltar, Ishkoman, Yasin, Hunza, Nagar, Khapulo, Rundu, Danyore and outskirts and Jalalabad is declined by around 42 percent, even lower than at the rate on which former managed to get their reward of efforts throughout 12 months in 2009. Another one main factor known is excessive supply from Skardu and Astore region in markets of Lahore and Rawalpindi that drastically reduced the demand thus compelling producers to sell at lower prices.
The situation in case of fresh fruits: apple, pears and grape was also the same. Due to lack of indigenous packaging industry as well as any effective price regulation department in local government structure, local formers have been forced to sell their production according to the commission agents mostly non-locals. There has been a constant demand from social circles of regional governments to provide loans at affordable markup rate to the farmers to enable them establish jointly packaging and storage rooms to cater the demand from down cities in subsequent months of the year, an option to boost economic activities through small medium enterprise initiatives. Ultimately, recognition and addressing of such demands by current regime would save former class from exploitation at the hands of both local and non local commission agents and the move would serve to channelize a better dynamics of relations between producers, intermediaries and end consumers to absorb the positive trends in global economy. Gilgit-Baltistan is expected as the hub of commercial activities of few major rising economies that Pakistan borders in the East and North. For this empowerment of indigenous population of Gilgit-Baltistan on the pattern tested and getting success in Xinjiang province of China.
According to a reliable source, width of the road is even less than the previous one with frequent cross sections. Traveling on KKH especially between Hunza and Nagar has become bit advanturous. On the other hand, experts say that inadequate number of workers and equiptments was one of major reason for delay in construction and repairing work for half an year.
