Perishable cargo: Chaman fruit trade hit by Punjab roadblocks

Truckloads of grapes, apricots, plums and peaches have gone to waste due to the roadblocks, say dealers in Chaman

Truckloads of grapes, apricots, plums and peaches have gone to waste due to roadblocks in Punjab, dealers in Chaman told Daily Express.

Hundreds of trucks loaded with fresh fruits leave daily for various cities of Punjab from Chaman district of Balochistan. Situated on Pak-Afghan border, Chaman is famous across the country for the supply of grapes, apricots, plums, peaches, melons, apples and other fruits.

However, the Punjab government’s step to seal the roads in an attempt to block the PAT and PTI marches caused colossal losses to the fruit trade.

“We had to dump grapes worth a million rupees because the roads were blocked and the cargo had started rotting after four days on the road with nowhere to go,” a trader, Faiz Mohammad Shamsozai told Daily Express in Chaman.

A grower, Haji Noor Gul, shared that seasonal fruits are highly perishable items and are packed and shipped accordingly. However, almost all of the shipments sent to Islamabad, Lahore, Gujranwala and Gujrat were wasted due to roadblocks. “Who will compensate our loss?” he asked.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th,2014.