Kandhkot - With the advent of winter season in Sindh, the demand for dry fruits such as Pistachios, Almonds, Cashews, Raisins, Walnuts and Peanuts has increased. Vendors from various areas of the country, mainly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, throng the province’s bazaars in large numbers and set up their stalls. In Kashmore district, traders selling dry fruits set up their stalls at Shahi Bazaar, Tower Market, main city bazaar and others. It is said that old folks always advise children and youth to eat dry fruits during winter in order to protect themselves from diseases associated with cold weather. When this scribe approached the vendors selling dry fruits, they said that as winter had set in the demand for dry fruits had increased enormously. They said they always came to Sindh during winters and sell a complete range of dry fruits. Rameez Ali, a vendor, said that he had come from Quetta and claimed that best quality dry fruits were available at his stall. “Besides that I am selling these items at normal rates,” he added. Aslam Khan, a shop owner, said that more than 20 percent consumers bought these dry fruits in various boxes or ordered for gift packing. When this scribe talked to a renowned local Doctor Mohammed Ilyas, he told The Nation that consuming dry fruits besides routine exercise were must for keeping oneself healty. He said there were several benefits of eating dry fruits.

 “They control cholesterol level, and increase blood circulation,” he said and added, “Almonds are very useful for increasing hemoglobin in human blood.”