While the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have been devastating, the rising prices of food items have made several holes in the pockets of average earning citizens who have to bear the brunt of hovering prices of edibles.
Since the federal government has jacked up the price of petroleum products, rates of several daily-use items have increased manyfold, leaving the consumers at the mercy of marketeers who blatantly ignore government price-lists
The prices of all basic food items have witnessed a surge of 20 per cent to 30 per cent increase in their prices, burdening the already troubled common man.
Prices of daily use commodities like sugar, rice, pulses, chicken and tea have shot up in local markets.
In Rawalpindi local market, sugar is being sold at Rs110 per kilogram, cooking oil of different brands is being sold between Rs 330 to Rs340 per litre.
Similarly, tea per kilogram is being sold between Rs940 and Rs1,000, basmati rice Rs200 per kg.
Read The rise and rise in inflation
The price of the domestic gas cylinder has gone up to Rs1,900 from the previous price of Rs1600.
Milk is being sold at Rs140 per litre and yoghurt at Rs150 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, multi-national companies have also increased rates of daily-use items such as toothpaste, shampoo, soap, powdered milk etc by 20 to 30 per cent owing to the depreciating value of the rupee against the dollar.
Prices of different vegetables and fruit have started slowly coming down after Eidul Azha.
In the open market, potatoes are available for Rs45 per kilogram, onion for Rs35 per kg, tomatoes Rs60 per kg, lemon Rs100 per kg, green chillies Rs80 per kg, garlic at Rs195 per kg, ginger at Rs420 per kg and carrot at Rs80 per kg.
Similarly, bananas are being sold between Rs90 to Rs120 per dozen, apples at Rs 130 per kg and mangoes between Rs130 to Rs150per kg.
The price of eggs per dozen has also increased.
In the open market, eggs are being sold at Rs160 while chicken is available at Rs160 per kg.
Chicken meat is being sold at Rs260 per kg while mutton and beef shops are closed in the wake of Eidul Azha.
Similarly, in the open market, ‘dal mash’ is being sold at Rs240 per kg, ‘dal masoor’ at Rs150 per kg, ‘dal moong’ at Rs170 per kg, and ‘dal channa’ at Rs140-145 per kg while channa is being sold for Rs200 per kg.
According to the citizens, shopkeepers have increased the prices of daily-use items on their own as the authorities concerned have failed to check for profiteering and overpricing.
They said that the price lists issued by the local administration seemed a showpiece in the shops as shopkeepers never follow the prescribed rate lists on one pretext or the other.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2021.
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