Traders raise essentials', Eid-specific items' prices freely

The traders have increased the prices of essential kitchen items as well as the prices of Eid-specific items like clothes, shoes, hosiery items and others manifold, saying that the manufacturers and suppliers have increased the prices. A survey carried out by Business Recorder showed that the retailers have not only increased the prices of food items on their own but have also jacked up the prices of Eid-specific items.
For instance, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, ginger and garlic are 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 (KP), Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and Tribal Areas.
In the retail market 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 k. The difference between the prices of the wholesale and retail market shows that the traders are overcharging the poor consumers.
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 than the official prices. Kitchen items like chillies, salt, turmeric, packed and lose milk, green Ilaichi (cardamom) prices also increased.
According to the survey, milkmen have also increased the price of milk from Rs 60 per litre to Rs 70 per kg, yoghurt from Rs 65 to Rs 70. Per kg onion is being sold at Rs 35 against Rs 25 per kg a few days back, ginger at Rs 120 per kg against Rs 100 per kg. Phool gobi' (cauliflower) is being sold at Rs 35 per kilogram, which was previously being sold at Rs 25 per kilogram.
Mudasar Ali, a garment trader, told BR that garments and clothing prices have registered some 50-75 percent increase this Ramazan as compared to the last year. Last year, one was able to purchase a normal local made jeans trouser at Rs 450 which now costs Rs 650, a normal shirt was available at Rs 300, which now costs Rs 500, a normal Shalwar kamees suit Rs 900, which now costs Rs 1300, he added.
Nadeem Minhas, a wholesaler in Rawalpindi, told Business Recorder that sugar price is increasing day by day, adding that during last few days the per kg price of sugar has jumped from Rs 70 per kg to Rs 78-80 per kg. The packed spices supplying companies like Shan, National and others have also increased the prices of packed spices by Rs 30.
He said that the Nestle Company has 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 oil is being sold at Rs 185-190 per kg and normal quality ghee/cooking oil is available at Rs 175 per kg. The price of wheat flour is stable, which is being sold at Rs 570-580 per 20 kg bag. The survey noted that there is no price increase in the wholesale market, while retailers are stating different excuses for escalated prices.
Due to continuous inflationary trend common man is not in a position to purchase any sort of fruit because of skyrocketing prices of the fruits, Haris Qureshi a government servant said. He said that during the Ramazan 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.
Giving a comparison between the prevailing fruit prices in wholesale fruit market and retail market, he said that good quality apples are being sold at Rs 80-100 per kg, mangoes at Rs 60 per kg, peach at Rs 60 per kg, banana Rs 50 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 80-100 per dozen and grapes at Rs 250 per kg. "The government always remained silent to the ill-practices of these profiteers, who during Eid days are increasing the prices of each and every item by manifold", Irshad Malik, a buyer at Islamabad Fruit and Vegetable market deplored.