Indian farmers have urged the state government to facilitate export of vegetables to Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah border by means of diplomatic channels.
“There is a glut of vegetables here these days and farmers are ploughing vegetables in the fields, whereas in stark contrast there is huge demand for vegetables just 30 kilometres away in Pakistan,” said Fruit and Vegetable Merchants Association Secretary Jaspal Singh Sethi, reports Times of India.
The demand follows a fall in prices of produce in the region. Sethi said farmers began facing difficulties during demonetisation, when there was no cash flow in the market and farmers were forced to sell their produce at any value.
“Now, with the glut of crops, the only hope now is to export vegetables to Pakistan, which is struggling with their supply,” said Ravinder Singh, the president of the merchants association.
Traders from the Indian state of Gujarat stopped supplying vegetables, especially tomatoes and chilli peppers, to Pakistan after tensions on the border escalated last year.
