KARACHI:
We live in a society where illegal practices such as price hikes and artificial scarcity are carried out during the holy month of Ramazan. Those who have the capacity and means stock up on groceries way before the beginning of the month in order to buy it at a lesser price. However, low-income families are left with no choice but to limit their food to dates and lentils, without eating a single fruit or meat for the entire month, due to the surge in prices. This is a trend that has been going on for ages and is getting worse every passing year.
With Ramazan now around the corner, it is expected that prices of food items will increase at an unprecedented rate. According to statistics, there has already been an increase of 13.48% in prices in the last 12 months, with eggs increasing by 48.1%, followed by chicken with 36.33% and wheat with 23.79%. It is expected that these rates will start to surge even more as soon as the moon of Ramazan is sighted and retailers start to lay out their plans of earning more money.
One can only imagine how a family with children will be able to survive when the price hike hits the markets this year. The concerned authorities should look into the matter seriously and monitor the rates so that basic commodities are affordable for all. Yet again the poor are left without a safety net.
Roshail Khan
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2021.
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