High potato prices forced the federal government to allow duty-free import of an additional 100,000 tons of potatoes to reinforce previous imports of 200,000 tons.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The committee extended the deadline for duty-free potato imports till Nov 15.
The potato prices averaged around Rs70 per kg on Thursday in most of the government-controlled Ramazan bazaars despite repeated threats and policy decisions by the finance minister over the last four months. In the open market, it was being sold at Rs75-80 per kg.
