Federal Minister for Trade Syed Naveed Qamar told the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce on Wednesday that the government had decided to import tomatoes and onions from Afghanistan and Iran, while the decision on the import of these vegetables from India would be taken after consultations with the coalition parties, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

He was responding to a question by PPP Senator Palwasha Khan, who, quoting Finance Minister Miftah Ismael, said that some private companies had approached the government to seek permission for the import of vegetables from India. “Is the Ministry of Commerce mulling importing tomatoes and onions from the neighbouring country?” she asked. 

The trade minister told her that these would be the private companies which would import these items from Afghanistan and Iran while the government’s role would be that of a ‘facilitator’. 

Qamar further said that since unprecedented floods had destroyed the agriculture sector, the country might face food shortage in days to come.             In a related development, the federal cabinet exempted the import of tomatoes and onions from sales tax until December 31, 2022. 

Sources told 24News that not only that, the import of these food items was also exempted from the payment of withholding tax.

Reporter: Waqas Azeem