ISLAMABAD: The prices of essential kitchen items have witnessed a decline during the last week against the previous week, revealed a survey conducted by Business Recorder here on Saturday.
The survey noted a reduction in ghee/cooking oil prices as B-grade ghee/oil price went down from Rs 6,400 to Rs 6,200 per carton of 16 packs in the wholesale market, which in retail is being sold at Rs 410 against Rs 420 per pack of 900 grams, while the best quality cooking oil/ghee brands such as Dalda ghee price in wholesale market went down from Rs 2,850 to Rs 2,820 per 5-kg tin which in retail are being sold at Rs 2,900 against Rs 2,950 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 of rice remained stable as the best quality basmati in wholesale market is available at Rs 13,700 per 40-kg 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 40-kg bag, which in retail is being sold at Rs 260 per kg.
Wheat flour prices witnessed a slight reduction as the best quality wheat flour ex-mill price went down from Rs 1,820 to Rs 1,780 per 15-kg bag, which in retail is being sold at Rs 1,820 against 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 Rs 140; small size is at Rs 100/110.
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 went up from Rs 9,300 to Rs 8,800 per 50-kg 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 an increase in chicken prices, which went up from Rs 11,400 to Rs 12,600 per 40 kg in the wholesale market, and, in retail, is being sold at Rs 335-340 against Rs 315-325 per kg, while chicken meat is available in the range of Rs 500-600 per kg depending on the localities. According to traders, egg prices went up in the wholesale market from Rs 9,800 to Rs 10,500 per carton of 30 dozen, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 350-360 against Rs 340-350 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-gram 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 are selling at Rs 800 per kg.
Pulse prices witnessed a decline as maash pulse is available at Rs 470 against Rs 500 per kg, gram pulse at Rs 275 against Rs 300 per kg, whole gram pulse at Rs 260 against Rs 300 per kg, various varieties of bean lentils in the range of Rs 430-520 per kg, moong pulse at Rs 320 against Rs 350 per kg, and masoor pulse at Rs 260 against 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 Rs 160 per pack, while Dettol, Lux, Palmolives, and others are available at Rs 180 per pack, and detergent prices, such as Ariel Surf, Brite, Express Power, and others, are available at Rs 530 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.
Officially, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on November 1, 2025, 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 retailers are overcharging per domestic cylinder by Rs500-800 per cylinder and per kg by Rs 100-120, as the OGRA has never tried to enforce the official rates, and as a result, the consumers are paying high rates.
Overall vegetable prices witnessed a declining trend as potatoes price remained stable at Rs 4000-6,000 per quintal, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 70-100 per kg; onion price in wholesale market went up from Rs 4,400-5,500 to Rs 8,000-9,500 to per quintal, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 140-180 against Rs 80-100 per kg while government has fixed it at Rs 110-150 and tomato prices went down from Rs 1,550 to Rs1,250 per basket of 15kg, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 100-150 against Rs 200-250 while official price is fixed at Rs 72-99 per kg.
Ginger price remained stable the range of Rs 1,800/2000 per 5kg in wholesale market, which in retail is being sold in the range of Rs 500-600 per kg, garlic prices went down as local garlic is available at Rs 800 against Rs 850 per 5kg which in retail is being sold at Rs 220-250 against Rs 230-270 per kg, Quetta garlic went down from Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,200 per 5 kg which in retail is being sold at Rs 265-290 against 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 205-220 against Rs 215-225, Quetta garlic at Rs 265-280 and China garlic at Rs 370-385 against Rs 375-395.
Capsicum price went down from Rs 1,100 to Rs1,000 per 5kg in the wholesale market which in retail is being sold in the range of Rs 240-265 against Rs 250-270per kg, prices of various varieties of pumpkins went down from Rs 500-230 to Rs 350-200 per 5kg in wholesale market, which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 65-110 per kg; various types of tinda at 750 per 5kg which in retail are being sold in the range of Rs 165-200 per kg; eggplant price went up from Rs 260 to Rs350 per 5kg, which in retail are being sold at Rs 100-150 per kg; cauliflower price went down from Rs 300 to Rs 175 per 5kg in the wholesale market, which, in retail, is being sold in the range of Rs 50-70 against Rs 80-130 per kg and cabbage price went up from Rs 550 to Rs 600 per 5kg, which, in retail, is being sold at Rs 150-170 against Rs 125-1235 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 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