Essential kitchen items' prices register drastic increase

Prices of an entire range of essential kitchen items have registered a drastic increase this week, as compared to last week, a survey carried out by Business Recorder revealed. Traders at wholesale and retail markets said that during the week, price of most of the essential kitchen items for example egg, tomatoes, fresh chillies, cooking-oil/ghee, onions, spices and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) were raised by the suppliers.
Traders allege that suppliers of cooking-oil/ghee are regularly increasing the price of the commodity: good quality cooking oil like Dalda, Sufi and Habib was available at Rs 160 per kg last Saturday, and is now being sold at Rs 185 per kg. Suppliers of cooking oil have increased the price of normal quality ghee by Rs 15 per kg.
Retailers maintain that though the rates have been raised on the plea that palm-oil prices have gone up in the global market, yet most of the manufacturers have around two months of stocks in their godowns, hence their plea carries little or no weight. They further accused suppliers of increasing ghee prices every fortnight.
The average quality ghee and cooking oil like Fauji and Shan brands were being sold at Rs 150 per kg, but due to recent price increase of superior ghee quality, rates for average quality have touched Rs 165 per kg. The suppliers are all set to take cooking-oil/ghee prices to Rs 200 per kg within the next few weeks, they added.
According to traders tomato price has jumped to Rs 80 per kg from Rs 60 per kg due to Indian restriction. Ghulam Nabi a shopkeeper at Abbpara marker said that at start of 2010 per litre packed milk was being sold at Rs 55, which is now available at Rs 70 per litre, loose milk at the beginning of the year was being sold at Rs 45 per kg, which is now available at Rs 60 per kg.
Shafqat Mehboob a trader of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) said that the distributors of LPG increased price by Rs 5 per kilogram a few days ago. According to him, after the Rs 5 increase, the price has climbed to Rs 145 per kg from Rs 140. He added that the cost of domestic LPG cylinder has jumped up by Rs 60 and commercial cylinder by Rs 240 per cylinder.
Traders at fruit and vegetable market Islamabad said that during the week under review prices of some of the vegetables witnessed slight decrease because of good supply position. The price of chicken (live) decreased from Rs 125 to Rs 115 per kg, cabbage from Rs 40 Rs 35 and cauliflower from 40 per kg to Rs 30 per kg during the week under review.
Consumers while talking to BR said that every winter the LPG distributors raise LPG prices and the concerned authorities never take any action against them. However, onion prices went down in markets due to ban on exports to India through Wahgah border: onions are being sold at Rs 50 per kg in the retail market, while a few days ago it was being sold at Rs 80 per kg.
Traders said that price of the commodity has declined during the last few days due to onion arrival from Sindh. They warned that if the government allows onions exports to India through Wahgah its prices would again skyrocket and may touch Rs 100 per kg.