‘Use yogurt instead of costly tomatoes’, PTI leader advises people

Shaukat Yousafzai suggests prices of essential commodities would normalise if people stop buying them

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai has suggested an ingenious way to bring down skyrocketing prices of tomatoes, which recently crossed Rs300 per kg in the domestic market. He advised the masses to stop buying the costly commodity altogether and use yogurt as its replacement in their daily meals.

“We have stopped using tomatoes in our curries … we use yogurt instead. You should also stop using it until its prices come down to normal level,” he can be heard saying in a video that went viral on social media on Sunday.

“Look, it all depends on demand and supply … prices will go up due to increased demand and when you stop using it altogether then automatically prices will reduce,” Yousafzai explained.

“Problem with Pakistanis is we always cry over increasing prices of beef, mutton and chicken but refuse to quite using these commodities resulting in their soaring prices … it’s better to get rid of them and the prices will automatically come down.”

PM's adviser Hafeez Shaikh grilled over price of tomatoes

The comment comes as the price of tomatoes reached its highest-ever mark and the price control committees failed to enforce the government-approved rates throughout the country.

The price hike is attributed to a cessation in supply of tomatoes from Iran and of red tomatoes from Balochistan.

Last week, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh drew public ire for comments on tomato prices. In a video shared widely on social media platforms, Shaikh was seen dismissing reporters’ concerns over the rising prices of tomatoes.

“Look, tomatoes are being sold for Rs17 per kilogramme at the sabzi mandi,” said the PM’s adviser.

When reporters informed him that the fruit was being sold for Rs240 per kg by retailers in Karachi, Shaikh dismissed their assertion as a lie.

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