Several farm owners and growers gathered in Mangochar town and blocked the Quetta-Karachi national highway, suspending traffic. Also, protesters intercepted a vehicle loaded with tomatoes imported from Iran and started looting or throwing tomato boxes on the road. The protesters, chanting slogans against the government, said they would not allow tomato imports from Iran, and their crop was ready for shipment to the market.
The Balochistan Zamindars Association, which organized the protest, has condemned the destruction of tomatoes and disassociated itself from the incident. Still, the association believes that local growers will face significant financial losses amid imports of tomatoes and other vegetables from Iran and Afghanistan as their crop, ready to hit the market, would not fetch the right price.
It has asked the government to stop these imports until the local tomato crop arrives in the market. Several trucks loaded with tomatoes and onions reached Pakistan through Taftan and Chaman border crossing from Iran and Afghanistan, lowering the high prices of both vegetables in the local market.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com