Essential items prices register substantial increase

The prices of essential kitchen items have registered a substantial increase this week as compared to last week. A survey carried out by Business Recorder showed that the prices of essential kitchen items including wheat flour, sugar, tetra pack milk, chicken, mutton, beef and an entire range of vegetables witness increase.
Traders at fruit and vegetable market of Islamabad told Business Recorder that increase in the prices of the vegetables like onions, tomatoes, potatoes, okra, and others was a direct effect of the floods in Sindh, where over 10 million acres of cropped area has been badly affected.
Traders said that Nestle company and other suppliers of tetra pack milk increased the price of packed milk by Rs 3 per kg, adding that sugar also registered an increase in the price by Rs 5 per kg. Nestle raised the tetra milk price to Rs 78 per litre from Rs 75, while half litre pack now is being sold at Rs 44 from Rs 42 from September 5 and 1/4 kg pack is being sold at Rs 23, which last week was available at Rs 22.
Normal quality wheat flour became costlier by Rs 1.5 per kg. Last week, 20 kg bag of normal quality flour wheat was available at Rs 560, which now is being sold at Rs 690, while good quality 20 kg wheat flour bag price increased by Rs 40 or Rs 2 per kg.
Milkmen also increased the price of milk from Rs 60 per litre to Rs 70, yoghurt from Rs 65 to Rs 70. Packed spices supplying companies like Shan, National and others also increased the prices of packed spices by Rs 30. Chillies, salt, turmeric, packed and loose milk, green Ilachi (Cardamom) prices also increased.
Last week onions, potatoes, tomatoes, ginger and garlic were being sold at Rs 25 per kg, Rs 30 per kg, Rs 30 per kg, Rs 100 per kg and Rs 110 per kg in the fruit and vegetable market of the twin cities, which also supply fruits and vegetables to entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and Tribal Areas. This potatoes are being sold at Rs 40 per kg, onions at Rs 40 per kg, tomatoes at Rs 45 per kg, ginger at Rs 160 per kg and garlic at Rs 180 per kg, which indicates that the prices of vegetables have considerably increased during the week.
Muhammad Alam Khan a buyer at Abbpara Market Islamabad criticising the government said that as far as papers are concerned there exists a price monitoring system at all the levels from federal to provincial and provincial to tehsil level, but the authorities have given free hand to the profiteers so they are free to overcharge the poor masses. "In the absence of proper price monitoring system the retailers are free to fleece the masses as they are selling each and every item on inflated prices. The important pulses like Dal Mash, Dal Moong, Dal Chana and Dal Masur are being sold by the retailers on 10-15 percent higher rates than the official prices" Alam Khan lamented.
He said that the Nestle increased the price of per kg powder milk (NIDO) by Rs 30, which previously was being sold at Rs 510 per kg and now is available at Rs 540 per kg. He added that suppliers of soft drinks have reduced the margin of the shopkeepers. Lipton the main tea supplying company in Pakistan instead of increasing the price has reduced the size of the tea packs from 200 grams to 190 grams and is charging Rs 125 for 190 gram pack of tea, which previously was being sold at Rs 120.
Good quality ghee/cooking is being sold at Rs 185-190 per kg and normal quality ghee/cooking oil is available at Rs 175 per kg. Due to continuous inflationary trend common man is not in a position to purchase any sort of fruit because of skyrocketing prices, Haris Qureshi a government servant said. He said that the fruit sellers have made it impossible for the common man to purchase fruits like banana, apple, mangoes, grapes, peach and others by escalating the prices manifold. He questioned how a common man could purchase apple at Rs 125 per kg, mango at Rs 80-100 per kg, banana at Rs 100 per dozen and grapes at Rs 300 per kg with limited earning of Rs 250 per day.
Irshad Malik, a buyer, giving a comparison between the prevailing fruit prices in wholesale fruit market and retail market said that good quality apples are being sold at Rs 100 per kg, mangoes at Rs 60 per kg, peach at Rs 60 per kg, banana Rs 80 per dozen, while in retail market apples are being sold at Rs 150 per kg, mangoes at Rs 100-120 per kg, peach at Rs 100 per kg, banana at Rs 100 per dozen and grapes at Rs 250-300 per kg.