ISLAMABAD: The prices of most of the non-perishable essential kitchen items have remained stable while perishables, notably vegetables, witnessed a decline during this week past against the previous week, revealed a survey conducted by Business Recorder here on Saturday.
Ghee/cooking oil prices witnessed an increase as B-grade ghee/oil price slightly went up from Rs 6,350 to Rs 6,400 per carton of 16 packs in the wholesale market, which in retail is being sold at Rs 420 per pack of 900 grams, while the best quality cooking oil/ghee brands such as Dalda ghee price in wholesale market went up from Rs 2,700 to Rs 2,850 per 5kg tin which in retail are being sold at Rs 2,950 against Rs 2,850 per 5-litre bottle.
No changes were witnessed in the prices of branded spices such as Shan, National, and others, which are available at Rs 150 per 39-gram pack and sachet pack at Rs 70.
The prices of the various varieties remained stable as the best quality basmati in wholesale market is available at Rs 13,700 per 40kg bag, which in retail is being sold at Rs 400 per kg, normal quality Basmati at Rs 12,500 per 40 kg bag, which in retail is being sold at Rs 350 per kg, and broken Basmati at Rs 9,000 per 40kg bag, which in retail is being sold at Rs 260 per kg.
Wheat flour prices witnessed no changes as the best quality wheat flour ex-mill is priced at Rs 1,820 per 15kg bag, which in retail is being sold at Rs 1,850 per 15 kg bag. The tandoor owners have also kept the price of Roti, Naan, and Paratha unchanged. Roti is priced at Rs 20, Naan at Rs 23-25, and Paratha at Rs 60. No fluctuation was witnessed in bakery and confectionery item prices as normal-sized bread is available at Rs140, small-sized at Rs100/110.
The prices of cooked food items remained stable, as a cooked dal/vegetable plate at a normal hotel is available at Rs 320, a cooked beef plate at Rs 550, a cooked chicken plate at Rs 500, cooked mutton at Rs 750, and naan/roti is being sold at Rs 25/30 and a cup of tea in the range of Rs 70-100 per cup.
Sugar price slightly went up from Rs 9,150 to Rs 9,300 per 50kg bag, while officially the government has fixed the commodity price at Rs 8,600 per 50 kg bag which is only available for license holder retailers, while non-license holder retailers are purchasing the commodity from open market at higher rates and selling at Rs 190/200 per kg against Rs 172 per kg the government fixed price.
The survey observed a reduction in chicken prices, which went down from Rs 12,000 to Rs 11,400 per 40 kg in the wholesale market, and in retail is being sold at Rs 315-325 against Rs 330-340 per kg, while chicken meat is available in the range of Rs 500-600 against Rs 530-620 per kg, depending on the localities. According to traders, egg prices went up in the wholesale market from Rs 9,300 to Rs 9,800 per carton of 30 dozen, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 340-25 against Rs 320-340 per dozen.
Mutton and beef prices remained stable as normal quality mutton is available at Rs 2,400 per kg while the best quality is being sold in the range of Rs 2,700-2,8000 per kg, normal quality boneless beef is available at Rs 1,500 per kg, and normal mixed beef at Rs 1,300 per kg. Various varieties of fish are available in the range of Rs 600 to Rs 1000 per kg.
No changes were witnessed in tea prices, as Lipton Yellow Label is available at Rs 2,200 per 900 grams pack and Islamabad Tea is available at Rs 1,800 per kg; in the wholesale market turmeric powder price remained stable at Rs 700 per kg which retailers are selling at Rs 1,000 per kg and red chilli powder price also remained stable at Rs 550 per kg which retailers selling at Rs 800 per kg.
Pulse prices remained stable as maash pulse is available at Rs 500 per kg, gram pulse at Rs 300 per kg, whole gram pulse at Rs 300 per kg, various varieties of bean lentils in the range of Rs 430-520 per kg, moong pulse at Rs 350 per kg, and masoor pulse at Rs 280 per kg.
Prices of packed milk brands Milk-Pak, Olpers, and others per litre pack remained stable at Rs 3800-4000 per carton, while in retail, 250ml packed milk is being sold at Rs 100 per 250ml, similarly litre pack at Rs 360 per litre. Fresh milk prices in some parts of the twin cities are being sold at Rs 250 per litre, while in some parts are still being sold at Rs 240 per litre, and the yogurt price is stable at Rs 250 per kg. No changes were observed in the prices of powder milk, such as Nido and Lactogen, as 400-gram Nido powder milk is available at Rs 1,350, and a 200-gram pack at Rs 750 per pack.
Bathing soaps’ prices remained stable as family-size Safeguard is available at Rs160 per pack, while Dettol, Lux, Palmolives, and others are available at Rs180 per pack, and detergent prices, such as Ariel Surf, Brite, Express Power, and others, are available at Rs530 per kg pack.
The prices of various brands of cold drinks, such as Pepsi, Coke, Miranda, and others, remained stable as a family-size bottle is available at Rs 230.
Officially, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has notified a reduction in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) price for November 2025, lowering the cost of an 11.8kg domestic LPG cylinder by Rs 65 compared with October and fixed LPG at Rs 201 per kg. The price of an LPG cylinder has come down from Rs 2448 to Rs 2387. But the retailer are overcharging per domestic cylinders by Rs 500-800 per cylinder and per kg by Rs 100-120, as the OGRA has never tried to enforce the official rates, and, as a result, consumers are paying high rates.
Overall vegetable prices witnessed a declining trend as potatoes price went down from Rs 5,000-8000 to Rs4 000-6,000 per quintal, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 70-100 against Rs80-130 per kg; onion price in wholesale market went down from Rs 4,700-8,500 to Rs 4,000-6,500 to per quintal, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 80-100 against Rs100-170 per kg and tomato prices went down from Rs 1,750 to Rs1,550 per basket of 15kg, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 200-250 against official price of Rs132-167 per kg.
Overall vegetable prices witnessed a declining trend as ginger price remained stable the range of Rs 1,800/2000 per 5kg in the wholesale market, which in retail is being sold in the range of Rs 500-600 per kg, garlic prices also remained stable as local garlic is available at Rs 850 per 5kg which in retail is being sold at Rs 230-270 per kg, Quetta garlic is stable at Rs 1,300 per 5 kg which in retail is being sold at Rs 290-320 per kg and China garlic price is stable at Rs 1,500 per 5kg in the wholesale market which in retail is being sold in the range of Rs 350-400 per kg. However, the majority of vendors are selling local garlic in the name of China/Quetta to maximize their profits, while the government has fixed local garlic price at Rs 215-225, Quetta garlic at Rs 265-280m and China garlic at Rs 375-395.
Onions price went down from Rs 600 to Rs 550 per 5kg which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 150-175 per kg against official fixed price of Rs 105-145 per kg, tomatoes price went down from Rs 1,800 per basket of 15kg to Rs 1,500 per basket which in retail is being sold in the range of Rs150-180 against government fixed price of Rs 110-155, potatoes are being sold in the range of Rs 200-300 in the wholesale market which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 100-130 against government fixed rates of Rs 55-79 per kg.
Similarly, the prices of all the other vegetables and fruits witnessed a decline in the wholesale market, but the retailers, in the absence of effective monitoring, have not passed the benefit on to the end consumers. People have urged the authorities to either enforce an official price list or stop doing such an exercise, which has no benefit to the masses.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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