Remove middlemen to control prices: report

Punjab police special branch have proposed to abolish the role of middlemen in the fruit and vegetable markets to control inflation, officials told The Express Tribune.

A report compiled by the special branch of police claimed that the price hike would be dropped by 50 per cent, officers in Rawalpindi police said. The special branch meant for monitoring and scanning the city for crime control and keeping watch on government’s rivals used its intelligence gathering wing to study the market forces.

They said that the Punjab government had directed the police special branch to determine the real reasons for the price hike. Based on information collected across 36 districts of Punjab, the special branch identified that middlemen were the root of all evils.

It explained that farmers go to the vegetable and fruit markets to sell their product where influential middlemen buy commodities on the cheap. Before reaching the consumer, the products are purchased and sold upto seven times, the report said.

This practice leads to a huge increase in the prices of vegetables and fruits while middlemen earn millions daily. The report noted that when district officials arrive at the wholesale market to inspect prices, middlemen bid fake prices. When they leave, the bidding process is repeated and huge profits are earned. The report suggested abolishing middlemen from the system and open the markets to control inflation.

The producers barely get 10% of what their products are actually worth. Middlemen take full advantage of their unawareness and sell the same products for double, triple price in the market.