Govt fails to check spurt in prices of essentials
Stalls are bereft of customers following calls on social media for a strike against fruit vendors to protest against the price hike. PHOTO: ZAFAR ASLAM/Express
Citizens lamented the provincial government’s ‘futile exercise’ of issuing daily price lists without ensuring its implementation as prices of 22 essential commodities witnessed an increase during a week ending on September 24.
A report issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) report – an analysis to measure weekly price movements of essential commodities to review the price situation in the country – showed that out of 51 items, prices of 22 (43.13%) items increased, eight (16.67%) items decreased and 21 (41.17%) items remained constant during the week under review.
The SPI report comprises of 51 essential items from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country, highlights that the SPI recorded an increase of 0.32% over last week.
This increase is mainly due to a rise of 1% or more in prices of food items, like onions (10.63%), tomatoes (9.29%), sugar (1.66%) and non-food items, like washing soap 250 gm (1.19%) with the joint impact of 0.43% into the overall SPI for the combined group of (0.32%).
The report also indicated a decrease in the prices of chicken (5.33%), bananas (4.45%), potatoes (3.11%), LPG (0.72%), pulse moong (0.64%), electricity charges for Q1 (0.49%), garlic (0.24%) and rice (0.20%).
It pointed out that the year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 8.86% with most of the items increased mainly tomatoes (100.56%), chillies powder (86.31%), potatoes (65.32%), pulse moong (41.11%), eggs (38.76%), pulse mash (35.84%), sugar (29.13%), pulse masoor (25.88%), bread (18.80%), matchbox (18.03%), gur (17.85%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kilogrammes (15.52%) and long cloth (15.45%). While a major decrease was observed in the price of chicken (26.92%), onions (25.60%), diesel (16.10%), garlic (12.47%), petrol (8.11%) and LPG (7.11%), the report adds.
Besides this official inflation, overcharging was witnessed in markets around the metropolis owing to the absence of efficient price control regime.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, on Sunday, various citizens complained about overcharging. A citizen, Muhammad Kashif, highlighted that greengrocers and vendors were selling commodities at ask price which in most cases was double than the government rate.
He pointed out that not even a single shopkeeper in the city was selling everyday use commodities at the government’s notified rates. “I am unable to understand what is the use of this futile exercise of issuing daily price lists if the government cannot ensure its implementation. Prices of all essential commodities have been jacked up but no government official or public representative was available to curb this menace,” he lamented.
Official price list issued by the Lahore Market Committee shows chicken price witnessed an increase of Rs7 per kg during past week. Its price was fixed at Rs209 per kg while white meat was traded between at Rs230 to Rs260 per kg in retail markets.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2020.