Traders fear fruit, vegetable price escalation

The vegetable and fruit prices are likely to shoot up as traders in Sabzi Mandi on Monday stopped trading activities protesting murder of a young man. Haji Shahjahan, President Falhi Anjuman Wholesale Vegetable Market (FAWVM) told Business Recorder that the traders enraged by the death of Kamran, 22, who was slain.
While resisting armed robbery launched the strike from 12 noon for an indefinite period. Some unidentified gunmen attacked and killed Kamran of Arif and Co on Sunday at 1:30pm when most of the traders were out to offer prayers or having launch, said the FAWVM president. The FAWVM chief said his organisation did not particularly wants an indefinite strike but wanted to issue a warning to the government coupled with a four-day deadline.
"We propose a four-day warning to the government to bring the culprits to justice or face peaceful protests", he said. He said that vegetable and fruit items are perishable and traders are also likely to bear financial losses due to strike.
"We do not back any strike call because it would worsen the already bad supply situation and the ultimate victims would be the consumers and traders themselves", said the FAWVM chief. He said that traders would hold a meeting at 9am today (Tuesday) in the vegetable market to decide about the next course of action.
The supply position is already low almost 80 percent (from 600 trucks to 150 trucks) due to recent rains, was likely to face fresh setback leaving the consumers breathing under sky-high rates, FAWVM president feared.
He said that some criminal elements, in the guise of traders, were aimed at spoiling the trading environment of the market in the pursuit of their vested interests.
The traders in vegetable market were tired of these criminal elements and had sent letters to various government officials requesting help Haji Shahjahan said. The FAWVM chief demanded of the government to start inquiry into the elements masterminding criminal attacks in the vegetable market and to bring the Kamran's murderers to justice.