ISLAMABAD: The prices of essential kitchen items have witnessed a declining trend during the last week against previous week, revealed a survey conducted by Business Recorder here on Saturday.
The survey noted a further decrease in ghee/cooking oil prices as B-grade ghee/oil is available at Rs6,000 against Rs6,200 per carton of 16 packs in the wholesale market, which in retail is being sold at Rs400 against Rs410 per pack of 900 grams, while the best quality cooking oil/ghee brands such as Dalda ghee price in wholesale market went down from Rs2,820 to Rs2,800 per 5kg tin, which, in retail, is being sold at Rs2,900 per 5-litre bottle.
No changes were witnessed in the prices of branded spices such as Shan, National, and others, which are available at Rs150 per 39-gram pack and sachet pack at Rs70.
The prices of the various varieties of rice remained stable as the best quality basmati in wholesale market is available at Rs13,700 per 40-kg bag, which, in retail, is being sold at Rs400 per kg, normal quality Basmati at Rs12,500 per 40kg bag, which, in retail, is being sold at Rs350 per kg, and good quality broken Basmati at Rs9,000 per 40kg bag, which, in retail, is being sold at Rs260 per kg, while normal quality Basmati is available in the range of Rs5000-6000 per 40kg bag, which, in retail, are being sold in the range of Rs130-170 per kg.
Wheat flour prices witnessed no changes as the best quality wheat flour ex-mill is priced at Rs1,780 per 15kg bag, which, in retail, is being sold at Rs1,820 per 15-kg bag. The tandoor owners have also kept the price of Roti, Naan, and Paratha unchanged. Roti is priced at Rs20, Naan at Rs23-25, and Paratha at Rs60. 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 Rs320, a cooked beef plate at Rs550, a cooked chicken plate at Rs500, cooked mutton at Rs750, and naan/roti is being sold at Rs25/30 and a cup of tea in the range of Rs70-100 per cup.
Sugar price remained stable at Rs8,800 per 50kg bag, while officially the government has fixed the commodity price at Rs8,600 per 50kg 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 Rs190/200 per kg against Rs172 per kg the government fixed price.
The survey observed an increase in chicken prices which went up from Rs12,600 to Rs14,800 per 40kg in wholesale market and in retail is being sold at Rs390-400 against Rs325-335 per kg, while chicken meat is available in the range of Rs600-700 against Rs500-600 per kg depending on the localities. According to traders, egg prices remained stable at Rs10,500 per carton of 30 dozen, which, in retail, are being sold in the range of Rs350-360 per dozen.
Mutton and beef prices remained stable as normal quality mutton is available at Rs2,400 per kg while the best quality is being sold in the range of Rs2,700-2,8000 per kg, normal quality boneless beef is available at Rs1,500 per kg, and normal mixed beef at Rs1,300 per kg. Various varieties of fish are available in the range of Rs600 to Rs1000per kg.
No changes were witnessed in tea prices, as Lipton Yellow Label is available at Rs2,200 per 900-gram pack and Islamabad Tea is available at Rs1,800 per kg. In the wholesale market turmeric powder price remained stable at Rs700 per kg which retailers are selling at Rs1,000 per kg and red chilli powder price also remained stable at Rs550 per kg which retailers are selling at Rs800 per kg.
Pulse prices witnessed a decline as maash pulse is available in the range of Rs400-460 against Rs440-500 per kg, gram pulse at Rs270 against Rs275 per kg, best quality whole gram pulse at Rs300 against Rs330 while normal at Rs260 against Rs280 per kg, various varieties of bean lentils is in the range of Rs400-500 against Rs430-520 per kg, moong pulse at Rs300 against Rs320 per kg, and masoor pulse at Rs260 against Rs280 per kg.
Prices of packed milk brands Milk-Pak, Olpers, and others per litre pack remained stable at Rs3800-4000 per carton, while in retail, 250ml packed milk is being sold at Rs100 per 250ml, and litre pack at Rs360. Fresh milk prices in some parts of the twin cities are being sold at Rs250 per litre, while in some parts are still being sold at Rs240 per litre, and the yogurt price is stable at Rs250 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 Rs1,350, and a 200-gram pack at Rs750.
Bath 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 Rs230.
On November 1, 2025, 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 11.8kg domestic LPG cylinder by Rs65 compared with October and fixed LPG at Rs201 per kg. The price of an LPG cylinder has come down from Rs2448 to Rs2387. But the retailers are overcharging per domestic cylinder by Rs500-800 per cylinder and by Rs100-120 per kg 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 Rs4000-6,000 to Rs3,800-5700 per quintal, which, in retail, are being sold in the range of Rs70-100 per kg; onion price in wholesale market went down from Rs8,000-9,500 to Rs 5,500-8,500 to per quintal, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs100-150 against Rs140-180 per kg while government has fixed it at Rs94-123 and tomato prices went up from Rs1,250 to Rs1,350 per basket of 15kg, which in retail are still being sold in the range of Rs100-150 while official price is fixed at Rs82-109 per kg.
Ginger price remained stable the range of Rs1,800/2000 per 5kg in wholesale market, which in retail is being sold in the range of Rs500-600 per kg, garlic prices went down as local garlic is available at Rs800 against Rs850 per 5kg which in retail is being sold at Rs220-250 against Rs230-270 per kg, Quetta garlic went down from Rs1,300 to Rs1,200 per 5kg which in retail is being sold at Rs265-290 against Rs290-320 per kg and China garlic price is stable at Rs1,500 per 5kg in the wholesale market which in retail is being sold in the range of Rs350-400 per kg, however, 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 Rs205-220 against Rs215-225, Quetta garlic at Rs265-280 and China garlic at Rs370-385 against Rs375-395.
Capsicum price is stable at Rs1,000 per 5kg in the wholesale market which in retail is being sold in the range of Rs240-265 against officially fixed price of Rs220-240per kg, prices of various varieties of pumpkins remained stable at Rs350-200 per 5kg in wholesale market, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs65-110 per kg; various types of tinda at 750 per 5kg which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs165-200 per kg; eggplant price went down from Rs350 to Rs175 per 5kg, which in retail are being sold at Rs60-75 against Rs100-150 per kg; cauliflower price is stable at Rs175 per 5kg in wholesale market, which in retail is being sold in the range of Rs50-70 against officially fixed of Rs44-50 per kg and cabbage price went down from Rs600 to Rs550 per 5kg, which in retail is being sold at Rs150-170 against officially fixed price of Rs132-145 per kg.
Similarly, the prices of all the other vegetables and fruits witnessed decline in the wholesale market but the retailers in the absence of effective monitoring have not passed on the benefit 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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