Prices of essential commodities continue to rise
PHOTO: FILE
The skyrocketing prices of petroleum products have started to have a negative impact in the shape of a hike in the prices of food items, transport fares, milk, flour, ghee, oil, pulses, rice, sugar, chicken, tomato and meat in the open market and Sunday, Sasta and Sahoolat bazaars.
In the open market, poultry live is being sold between Rs 235 and Rs240 per kg, chicken meat between Rs 352 and Rs360 per kg, eggs Rs140 per dozen, Ghee Rs 460 per kg, oil Rs470 per kg, sugar Rs105 per kg and flour between Rs80 and Rs90 per kg.
Similarly, mutton is being sold at Rs1,400 per kg, beef at Rs700 per kg, milk between Rs130 Rs 140 per kg, yoghurt at Rs 40 per kg, red beans Rs 200 per kg, white gram between Rs190 and Rs200 per kg, potatoes between Rs90 and Rs140 per kg, onion between Rs22 and Rs 35 per kg, lemon between Rs 60 and Rs 70 per kg, garlic Rs400 per kg, ginger between Rs 200 and Rs250.
Similarly, peas are being sold between Rs 70 Rs80, green chillies between Rs140 and Rs150, capsicum between Rs150 and Rs170 per kg, pumpkin between Rs100 and Rs110, eggplant between Rs85 and Rs90, okra between Rs 180 and Rs200 per kg fresh bean between Rs120 and Rs120, turnip between 25 and Rs30 apple between Rs70 and Rs200, malta and kinnow between Rs100 and Rs 230 per dozen.
With the huge increase in petroleum products, the national and multinational companies have also increased the prices of their products including surf shampoo, soap and baby milk powder between 20 and 30 per cent. Beverage companies have also increased the price of drinks
Around 60 price control magistrates across the district have failed to stabilize prices. Meanwhile, sugar, ghee, oil, basin and pulses have run out in all government utility stores in Cantonment areas and in the Rawalpindi city, which has caused great inconvenience to consumers who purchase from utility stores.
Sugar, pulses, basin, ghee and oil have run out of stock in utility stores on Murree Road, Chandni Chowk, Rashid Minhas Road, Tipu Road, Sadiqabad, Satellite Town, Tench Bhatta, Westridge, Rawalpindi.
Utility store management is sending back citizens empty-handed.
In the open market, pulses are prices have been increased between Rs 20 and Rs30 per kg, oil and ghee between Rs50 and Rs60 per kg and sugar Rs 10 per kg.
The price of flour has increased between Rs10 and Rs12 per kg
The Grocery Merchant Association has stopped selling pulses, sugar and flour at official rates due to increased wholesale prices.
Grocery Merchant Association President Saleem Pervaiz Butt said that the wholesale supply of pulses has gone up by Rs20 per kg and they cannot buy expensive pulses and sell them cheaply.
He said that an urgent price control committee meeting should be convened by the deputy commissioner to set up new prices.
Consumer Mehmood Khan said he has been visiting a utility store on Tipu Road for the last two days but sugar, pulses, ghee and oil was not available there.
Another citizen Arjand Hussain Shah said that ghee and oil were missing for the last three at the utility store at Chandni Chowk.
Fayyaz Hashmi said that there is a rush of consumers visiting the Tench Bhata utility store but return empty-handed as ghee, oil and pulses were missing there.
The management of the Tipu Road utility store said that they have informed the high-ups about the unavailability of stock.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2022.