Traders call for action against middlemen

The Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry has advised the provincial government to take action against middlemen in order to bring food price inflation under control.

In a statement on Saturday, the chamber's president, Doulat Ram Luhano, said the authorities often raided and penalised retailers to ensure compliance with the officially fixed rates of edible commodities.

"They fine small vendors and shopkeepers for charging higher prices, but this practice has failed to curb inflation," claimed Luhano, deploring that the country's system of governance allowed the middlemen, who he claimed also evaded taxes, to manipulate the prices of essential commodities for profiteering.

"Neither the farmers nor the retailers rake in fortunes. They are compelled to sell the commodities at the rates decided by the middlemen," he contended, also holding the middlemen responsible for hoarding commodities and creating shortages in the market.

He stressed the need for concerted efforts by the federal and provincial governments as well as the district administrations in order to take action against the middlemen.

Following hikes in the prices of sugar and milk, the rate for flour has also spiked in Hyderabad and its adjoining districts. So far, however, the local authorities have prevented the milk retailers from charging a higher price for the essential commodity.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2020.