Fresh produce prices slump dramatically

Prices of milk, chicken and vegetables decreases significantly due to the closure of hotels

MULTAN: Prices of daily food items including milk, chicken and vegetables decreased significantly due to the closure of hotels as the city life continues under lockdown.

Thousands of hotels and tea stalls that were operational pre-lockdown consumed millions of litres of milk on a daily basis.

Similarly, thousands of kilogrammes of chicken was supplied to the hotels, restaurants and fast food shops across the district.

Now that almost all of these are closed, there is an abundant supply of these eatables.



Milk is being traded at Rs70 per litre in the urban centres and Rs60 in rural areas.

A milk supplier, Liaqat Ali, said he use to supply nearly 160 litres of milk every day to a hotel before the government announced a lockdown.

“The hotel is closed and it has become very difficult to manage the milk,” adding that he is now offering milk at a price of Rs70 per litre to the general public to prevent waste of the produce.

The price of chicken has also dropped to Rs130 per kilogramme (kg) in the city.

Muhammad Arif, an owner of a chicken shop near MDA Chowk, revealed that since marriage halls and hotels are closed an ample stock of poultry is available in the market.



“The supply is more compared to its demand resulting in the reduction of prices of the chicken meat.

Congruent trend was witnessed in the prices of vegetables.

A vegetable vendor, Azhar, highlighted that the prices of vegetables are very low just like the cost of other food items.

Potato is available in the market at Rs30 per kg, onion at Rs50 per kg, brinjal at Rs40 per kg, tomato at Rs20 per kg, carrot at Rs40 per kg and pepper at Rs60 per kg. He said the prices have reduced as the consumption has reduced throughout the province owing to lockdown.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 7^th, 2020.