Govt ups rates of food items

The government has increased the prices of flour, sugar and ghee at Utility Stores.

The rates of 20 kg and 10 kg bags of wheat flour have been increased by Rs150 and Rs75, respectively.

After the surge, the new price of a 20 kg bag of flour is Rs950 against the earlier rate of Rs800.

A 10 kg bag of flour would now cost Rs475 per kg against the old price of Rs400.

The price of sugar has been jacked up by Rs17 per kg. The new price of sugar is Rs85 per kg against the earlier rate of Rs68 per kg.

The government also increased the price of subsidised ghee by Rs90 per kg. Now ghee is available at Rs260 per kg against the old rate of Rs170 per kg.

The Utility Stores Corporation (USC) has notified the new prices.

A week ago, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet had decided to increase prices of wheat flour, sugar, and cooking oil in the range of 19% to 53% at the Utility Stores by reducing subsidies for the poor, taking a second major administrative decision in as many days that will further fuel inflation.

Despite the claimed sugarcane bumper crop, the ECC meeting – chaired by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin – also approved to import 200,000 metric tons more sugar, taking the total quantity to 300,000 metric tons within three weeks.

The finance ministry said the ECC had given the nod to the revision in prices of three essential commodities namely flour (20 kg bag) to Rs950, ghee (per kg) to Rs260, and sugar (per kg) to Rs85, owing to an increasing gap between the subsidised prices offered by the USC and the prevailing market prices.

The wheat flour prices were increased by 19% or Rs150 per 20 kg to Rs950. The market price of flour, according to the industries ministry, is Rs1,235,

The ECC decided to increase ghee prices by 53% or Rs90 per kg to Rs260. The market prices have increased to Rs330 per kg due to wrong taxation policies and a surge in prices in the international market.

The sugar prices were proposed to be increased from Rs68 to Rs80 but the ECC decided to increase it to Rs85 per kg –an increase of 25%. The summary stated that the market prices were Rs104 per kg.

In the budget, the government changed the mode of taxation on sugar from wholesale to retail price, which has given a shock of Rs7 per kg increase in the prices.