Commodity prices fluctuated in March

The prices of essential commodities showed mixed trend during March 2011 with the prices of 27 of 52 commodities monitored by FAFEN registering an increase, as compared to the prices of these commodities in February 2011, according to FAFEN Retail Price Monitor for the month of March released here on Thursday. The 27 commodities registered an overall price increase of 4.5 percent and a total of 16 commodities registered an average price decrease of 4 percent.
While the prices of important food items like potato (5 percent) and wheat (2 percent) also increased in March 2011, the highest increase was observed in the price of Kinnow that registered a further increase of 20 percent in its price in the month. The increase in the price of kinnow and potato can be attributable to the end of the harvesting seasons of their respective crops.
FAFEN monitors collected the prices of 52 commodities on March 10, 2011 at designated retail outlets in 118 towns of 79 districts in four provinces. Fruits like banana (11 percent), apple dark and golden (8 percent and 5 percent) and chicken, meat and live, (13 percent and 8 percent) experienced a further increase in their respective prices. Commodities and services like egg (9 percent), rice-Irri (3 percent), kerosene oil, salt powder (2 percent each), mung pulse and prepared tea cup (1 percent each) all registered an increase in their prices in March, as compared to their prices in February, 2011.
In the commodities registering price decrease, onion topped the list for March, as well with 12 percent further decrease, as compared to its price last month. The price of onion has been decreasing since December 2010 and has decreased from an average price of Rs 71 in November, 2010 to Rs 25 in March, 2011. The price of peanuts registered a decrease of 11 percent and that of LPG by 7 percent, respectively. The prices of gur (3 percent), desi shaker (1 percent) and sugar (2 percent) have been decreasing since the beginning of the harvesting season of sugar cane crop in November, 2010 (the main input in the production of these commodities).
The prices of ginger (9 percent), tomato (3 percent) and cooked dal plate (1 percent) registered a further decrease in their prices in March, as compared to their prices in the previous month. Prices of other commodities like garlic (5 percent), red beans (4 percent), chapati (2 percent), gram pulse (2 percent), gram black (1 percent), Panadol tablet (1 percent) and mash pulse (1 percent) also registered a decrease in their respective prices.
FAFEN compared the data collected by its Governance Monitors with the Sensitive Price Index of the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS), which revealed differences in the prices of many items collected from the same cities. In some items, the prices listed by the FBS were higher than those collected by FAFEN, and in some instances they were lower.