Hyderabad fixes prices of food items for Ramazan

DC, traders decide to set fruit, vegetable prices on daily basis

HYDERABAD: The people of Hyderabad region and adjoining districts are likely to buy a range of edible commodities in Ramazan at lower rates than the currently prevailing rates.

At the price control meeting in Hyderabad's Shahbaz Building on Thursday evening, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Syed Aijaz Ali Shah pressed home the reduced prices amid evidently grudging acceptance by traders' representatives.

A list of 70 items, including flour, milk, yogurt, sugar, beef, mutton, pulses, chickpea, gram flour, loose oil, rice, spices, cumin, cardamom and black pepper, was discussed item by item for price fixation. For vegetables and fruits, the meeting decided that rates of auction of each fruit will be collected daily early morning so that the retail price could be set accordingly.

"No retailer of edible items will be allowed to sell a commodity higher than 10% above the wholesale price," declared the DC. For instance, an item bought from a wholesaler at Rs100 cannot be sold for more than Rs110 in retail, he explained.

As some officials suggested that violators should be penalised by sealing their shops or seizing their carts, Shah warned that monitoring and punitive actions will be more stringent in the upcoming month of Ramazan than any time before. He also asked Sindh Food Authority (SFA) to intensify their raids during the holy month.

The prices of commodities set for Hyderabad district are mostly implemented in other eight districts of Hyderabad division besides some other districts of the province.

The DC reduced the price of milk from Rs94 to Rs92 per litre, yogurt from Rs130 to Rs120 per kilogramme, mutton from Rs850 to Rs800 per kg, beef from Rs450 to Rs430 per kg, flour from Rs40 to Rs38 per kg and loose canola oil from Rs160 to Rs158 per litre. A very marginal decrease of Rs0.40 per kg was made in the rate of sugar while the prices of different varieties of rice were kept unchanged.

"Wholesale traders can't afford to let the rates of pulses, grain or spices be curtailed by 10% to 15%," contended Haji Jalal, who represented a merchants' association. He claimed that the profit margins of wholesalers are usually below Rs1 per kg because they sell their items in bulk to the retailers.

Another trader, Mehmood Rajput, argued that wholesalers could not lower the rates of pulses except mung bean and chickpea which are locally produced while the rest are imported. The traders gave the impression that while they accepted the reduced government rates, they will suffer financial losses on each item for the sake of the holy month.

Muhammad Ayaz Qureshi of Tower Market Karyana Association asked the DC to impose a ban on the number two and three qualities of pulses, rice, spices and other items. "By including the rates of second and third quality items, the government is indirectly approving the sale of substandard commodities," he contended pointing out that several traders during the meeting did not oppose reduction in the prices of number two and three qualities of different items because they are adulterated.

"The price of un-grained red chilli is Rs290 per kg whereas that of red chilli powder is Rs270 per kg. It shows that the powder is degraded by mixing substandard food items," said Qureshi. His suggestion, however, was opposed by other traders as well as the DC who justified that it was legal to sell different qualities of the same item.

The rate list of the 70 items which was discussed in the meeting was submitted by the Hyderabad market committee. Official sources said determining prices of these commodities was actually the responsibility of the Bureau of Supply and Prices of Sindh Agriculture Department. The role of the market committee is limited to managing vegetable markets and the rates of certain agricultural items.