Holiday spirit: Demand, prices of tomatoes, onions rise ahead of Eid

Ketchup also sees price rise, sellers set up homemade stalls to meet demand

PESHAWAR: The prices of tomatoes and onions—two important ingredients used to make chapli kebabs—have shown a marked increase ahead of Eidul Azha. The demand for both commodities, along with a derivative of one of them, ketchup, has risen dramatically.

Tomatoes that were available at Rs200 per four kilogrammes have increased to Rs300 per four kilogrammes while onions that were available at Rs120 per four kilogrammes as increased to Rs180 per four kilogrammes in just one day.

“This is not unusual since everyone wants to buy onions and tomatoes in bulk, especially as they form essential ingredients in chapli kebabs,” a vegetable seller Nasir Khan told The Express Tribune, adding tomatoes were also used in all other mutton and beef dishes.

“Cucumbers, lemons and lettuce are also in great demand but onions and tomatoes are bought in large quantities ahead and during Eid,” he said.

Nasir added the demand is so high that they cannot meet it and price hike seems to be the only logical solution. “We had stored the two items in advance and the price of tomatoes was expected to reach Rs400 per four kilogrammes and that of onions to reach Rs220 per four kilogrammes during Eid days.”

“There is no maintenance of quality since people buy these two vegetables in all sizes and because chapli kebabs is a favourite dish across K-P and Fata, particularly during Eid, the demand and prices rise drastically,” said another vegetable seller at Chowk Yadgar vegetable market.

The demand for tomato ketchup, another favourite item consumed with tikka and kebabs during Eid, has increased.

“I sell homemade ketchup—a pack per kilogramme for just Rs100—and I sell around 100 kilogrammes each Eid,” Sufyan who has established a stall to sell ketchup in Karimpura in the city told The Express Tribune. He added his clients are mostly city dwellers since villagers do not use ketchup.

The most sought after items on the market at this time include charcoal, which is used for barbeques, spices especially those of tikka and chapli kebabs and cold drinks.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2016.