Dry Fruits and Chicken Soup Prices Skyrocket as Winter Approaches

With winter approaching, prices for dry fruits, desi chicken broth, and soup have surged in Rawalpindi’s markets. Temporary stalls and carts selling items like peanuts, roasted black gram, soup, and broth have sprung up throughout the city, staying open until 2 a.m. Large stalls have also been set up at city entrances, offering a range of dry fruits, including popular varieties from Afghanistan, Gilgit, Iran, and Balochistan.

This year, soaring prices have made dry fruits unaffordable for many. Peanuts, a favorite across age groups, now cost a record Rs 800 per kilogram. Increased taxes, customs duties, and transportation fees have all contributed to this price hike. People can still be seen enjoying groundnuts, jaggery, and rewari as snacks in offices, shops, streets, and neighborhoods, with families gathering broth and soup late into the evening.

Currently, vendors charge Rs 160 for plain soup, Rs 180 for egg soup, Rs 200 for special chicken egg soup, Rs 140 for broth, and Rs 180 for a special broth cup. Dry fruit prices are steep: peanuts at Rs 800 per kg, roasted black gram between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,200 per kg, pine nuts (chilgoza) at Rs 16,000 to Rs 20,000 per kg, regular walnuts for Rs 800 per kg, premium walnut kagzi at Rs 1,200 per kg, and mixed dry fruit at Rs 2,850 per kg. Roasted cashews cost Rs 3,650 per kg, plain cashews Rs 3,400 per kg, standard almonds Rs 1,400 per kg, kagzi almonds Rs 1,900 per kg, black raisins Rs 1,700 per kg, pistachios Rs 3,400 per kg, nimko mix Rs 950 per kg, sundar khani fruit Rs 1,650 per kg, Afghan apricots Rs 1,750 per kg, Rewari Rs 1,000 per kg, and figs Rs 3,000 per kg.

Vendors like Shakir Abbasi and Fayaz Khan note that increased withholding taxes and doubled tax levies have significantly raised dry fruit costs. As a result, wholesale sales of dry fruits have dropped by 30% since last year. Many parties are now buying 10-15 kg of dry fruits instead of the 20 kg they typically purchase. Street vendors offer peanuts and roasted groundnuts at Rs 30 to Rs 100.