PESHAWAR: The prices of important kitchen items have jumped to an alarming level as there seems to be no check on profiteering, with traders selling beef, mutton, chicken meat, fruits, vegetables, cooking oil/ghee, flour, sugar, dates, and other commodities at exorbitant rates.
According to a weekly survey carried out by Business Recorder on Sunday, the prices of almost all daily use items have touched a new peak since the beginning of Ramazan, with common people complaining that food items are simply going out of their reach.
They condemn the local administration for failing to enforce the official price lists.
One kilogram of live chicken/meat is being sold at Rs 261, whereas beef with bone is available at Rs 650, and without bone, at Rs700-800 per kg against the official price of Rs 550 per kg.
Similarly, the price of mutton has increased to Rs 1500-1600 per kg in the local market.
The prices of fruits have also increased tremendously. Iranian apples are being sold at Rs 260-300 per kg while red apples imported from Afghanistan are available at Rs 200-220 per kg.
The price of banana ranges from Rs 100-150 to Rs 200 per dozen. Guava is available at Rs 100-120 per kg, strawberry at Rs 200-250, stored kinnow at Rs250 per kg, orange at Rs200 per dozen, melon at Rs 100-120 per kg, watermelon at Rs100 per kg, and muskmelon at Rs300-400 and Rs500 per piece. Green coloured or golden apples are being sold at Rs 140-160 per kg.
According to the survey, vegetables are also becoming costlier after the advent of Ramazan.
Tomatoes are being sold at Rs 200-250 per kg, peas at Rs 160-200, lemon at Rs 250-300, arvi at Rs 150, bitter gourd (Karela) at Rs 150-200, cabbage at Rs 100, cauliflower at Rs 120, long gourd at Rs 100, round gourd at Rs 80, brinjal at Rs 80, onion at Rs 60, and turnip at Rs 70 per kg. A bundle of reddish is available at Rs 50-80, cucumber at Rs 50 per kg and ginger at Rs 300 per kg. Garlic is available at Rs 250-300 per kg in the local market.
One kilogram of high-quality imported dates was being sold at Rs 500-600 while low-quality dates were available from Rs 250 to Rs400 per kg. Prices of beverages also touched a new peak in the holy month.
Prices of packed milk remained stable as no change was witnessed as compared to the preceding week, but prices of different brands of packed dry milk were very high, according to the buyers.
Bakers have also increased prices of confectionery items manifold, citing increasing prices of maida (fine flour), cooking oil/ghee and other items that are used in making bakery items.
According to the survey, the first category ghee/cooking oil is being sold at Rs 450-470 per kg/litre, second category at Rs 440 per litre/kg, while prices of imported ghee range from Rs 400 to Rs 420 per kg.
A 20-kg flour bag of various categories was being sold at Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,400, while bronze-coloured flour was available at Rs 1,200-1,250 per bag. This was despite the announcement of a hefty Rs 2.52 billion subsidy on wheat flour for the holy month by the provincial government.
One kilogram of sugar is being sold at Rs 95-96 against the official price of Rs 90. Similarly, the price of fresh milk has increased considerably, as high-fat milk is being sold at Rs 140 per litre, and low-fat milk at Rs 130 per litre. However, the prices of flour remained unchanged as a 20-kg bag was sold at Rs 1,300-1,450 while an 80-kg flour bag was available at Rs 6,400-6,500.
According to the survey, one kilogram of good quality rice (sela) was available at Rs 180 while tota (broken) rice was being sold at Rs 110-120 per kg. Daal maash was priced at Rs 300-320 per kg, white channa (big size) at Rs 200 and small-size white channa at Rs 160 per kg.
Dhoti daal was available at Rs 260 per kg, daal channa at Rs200, daal chilka (black) at Rs240, daal chilka (green) at Rs 200, daal masoor at Rs 180, gram flour (baisen) at Rs 120, and moong at Rs 200 per kg.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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