Price control: Traders threaten to shut down vegetable markets

Say they are being denied even meagre profits.

LAHORE:

Wholesale traders (pharriyes) at several vegetable markets in the city went on a strike on Tuesday against the new prices set by the district administration.

The traders’ associations called for a strike at the Badamibagh, Singhpura and Chungi Multan Road vegetable markets. They closed shops and held protest demonstrations against the new price list. They claimed that the new price lists had reduced their profit margins to “zero”.

The district administration had yet to form a committee to hold talks with representatives when this report was filed.

The Chungi market traders said they would hold a demonstration on Multan Road and block it for traffic on Wednesday (today). They requested traders of other markets to hold demonstrations as well.

Staff Officer to the DCO Tariq Zaman said the relevant assistant commissioners had been told to hold talks with the traders’ associations to resolve the issue.

He said the wholesale traders apparently wanted more profit than they were being offered, “but we will not allow them to fleece consumers”.



The Badamibagh vegetable market’s wholesalers’ association president, Muhammad Jahangir, said “How can we sell vegetables for the amount we pay for them?”

He said the wholesale traders wanted a decent profit margin so they could continue their business.

“If the government wants to bring down the price, it should start with their suppliers (aarhtis),” he said.

Considering rent and transportation overheads, it was unreasonable for the administration to tell traders to settle for a meagre profit margin of a few rupees.

“We cannot accept these price lists and will continue to protest till these are revised,” he said.

The Iqbal Town Vegetable Market Anjuman-i-Tajiran general secretary said “We will not tolerate the local administration’s overbearing attitude. They are forcing us to bear losses.”

He said the government appeared to be trying to run their business to the ground. “We have been protesting since morning.

No government official has approached us,” he said. “We will take our protest to Multan Road if the matter is not resolved soon.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2013.