PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Unwilling to accept payments in rupees, Afghan vegetable exporters want Pakistani traders to pay them in dollars, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
Importers of vegetables from Afghanistan and Iran, not allowed to purchase dollars from banks and exchange companies, have to count on the grey market to make payments
Dawn quoted sources as saying the importers were directed to enter into barter deals with Afghan and Iranian traders.
Sources in the Peshawar Chamber of Commerce and Industry told the daily import deals could be reached in local the currencies with Afghan exporters as afghanis were available in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
But the Afghan exporters often demand US dollars and insist on cash payments or payments through Dubai. For Dubai payments, importers have to rely on the <em>hawala</em> system.
Most importers are making payments to the Afghans either in cash dollars or through Dubai, a currency dealer told the newspaper.
Malik Bostan confirmed: “The government did not arrange dollars for imports from Kabul while importers are barred from buying dollars from exchange companies or banking channels.”
Afghan exporters are said to be unwilling to sell their goods against Pakistani rupees, which has been on the nosedive over the past few months.
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