Dry fruit rates in Pakistan are a unique phenomenon that intrigues the majority of the people of the country. It is common practice for a lot of shrewd people to check the rates of dry fruit first thing in the morning. The reason for this is that the rates of this now undeniably expensive commodity tend to change on the regular, and so people try to look for the best moment to stock up for the winter season.

People used to have to wait for and be ready for the 8 o’clock news or something along those lines to be able to figure out what the current rates of dry fruits are. But in the age of modern technology, we have the internet; now people can search online at whatever time they want to find out these rates.

But the question remains, why do dry fruit rates vary so much? What makes them so expensive? We thought we’d make an article to explain some of the basic concepts that affect the rates of dry fruits in Pakistan.

Dry Fruit Rates in Pakistan Online

There is some benefit of buying dry fruits online through a website over buying them at a physical store. The main benefit is that there is much less overhead for running a store online comparatively, which means lower prices, as these costs have to be transferred to the consumer. The other benefit of course is that you do not have to roam busy markets for hours; you will receive your purchased fruit at your doorstep.

With those fundamentals in mind, here are some of the major factors that affect the price of dry fruits:

The Weather

The biggest and most obvious reason for a drastic shift in dry fruit price through the year is of course what season it is. Dry fruits for most people are decidedly a winter specialty. The overwhelming majority of dry fruit purchasing in the country happens during this season. This means that the demand for dry fruits becomes sky-high, and subsequently, the prices increase manifold during the winter as well.

Another aspect of the weather that affects dry fruit prices in Pakistan that should seem obvious but is not often considered is the fact that dry fruits require specific weather conditions for their growth. Almonds, for example, require heat and dry weather to grow properly. So if there is a lot of rainfall, or there is flooding as is an unfortunate reality of our country at this point, the almond crop will be affected and lessened. So, when almonds reach the market, due to low supply they will cost a lot more.

Importation

The unfortunate reality is that the economy of Pakistan is an import-based economy, and has been for quite a while. An import-based economy is one in which the majority of goods that are in demand by the people are not being produced locally, and thus have to be imported from outside. Many of the dry fruits that are commonly consumed in Pakistan, like dates or cashews for example are also subject to this.

Importing something from outside obviously costs a lot more than getting it locally. This means that when these dry fruits reach the market, they are going to be extremely expensive for the average person. This factor also applies to online dry fruits in Pakistan.

In addition to this, constantly changing prices in international markets as well as fluctuations in the value of the local currency, as well as simple supply and demand issues mean that these dry fruits will always be the subject of many problems in terms of price.

In addition to this, in import-based economies, the government tends to want to find ways to reduce the amount of imports, as they put pressure on the national exchequer. A way that they often do this, and that Pakistan often does, is to make it significantly more expensive in terms of taxes to bring a product from outside the country, adding even more to the price tag of dry fruit.

Dry Fruit Quality

The third aspect that is often difficult for an average person to figure out, is the quality of the dry fruit that they are purchasing, In dry fruit production, there tend to be multiple grades of a single dry fruit in terms of its quality that can be purchased. But for the average person going to a seller, they would never be able to tell the difference.

Something that adds to that is that no matter which dry fruit store you go to, they will always tell you that their product is the highest quality there is, making it practically impossible for the average person to be able to tell if what they are paying is even the value that the product they are getting is worth.

An additional factor, or rather sad reality in this regard is the fact that out of the dry fruits that are produced locally, the highest grade batches are usually stored away to export to other countries, which demand high standards. What this means for the average consumer in Pakistan is that they will only ever get to taste the leftover low-quality product of a food that was made in their very own country.

Conclusion

While most people tend to be annoyed and complain about the flip-flopping and sky-high rates of dry fruits, almost no one knows the reasons why. Things like weather conditions, import costs, and product grade are some of the major things that are the cause of the fluctuating rates of dry fruits in Pakistan.