Fuel price hike triggers surge in kitchen items prices

RAWALPINDI:

The steady rise of the dollar and the sharp rise in prices of petroleum products have begun to hurt consumers as prices of all daily use items including flour, sugar, ghee, pulses, meat and milk continue to skyrocket in Rawalpindi.

Prices of daily use commodities are now rising almost with each passing day as regulators and price control magistrates have failed to enforce official rates, leaving the citizens at the mercy of shopkeepers, who charge at their whims. Sasta and Sunday bazaars and utility stores have also become centres of inflation, where the price of everything has jumped.

In the open market, chicken meat is being sold at Rs460 per kg, live chicken at Rs305 per kg and eggs at Rs 180 a dozen. Mutton is being sold at Rs1500 per kg, beef at Rs900 per kg, rice at Rs350 per kg, oil at Rs610 per litre, ghee at Rs560 per kg, white gram at Rs260 per kg, dal channa at Rs220 per kg, dal mash at Rs330 per kg, milk at Rs150 per litre, potatoes at Rs50 per kg, onion at Rs80 per kg, tomatoes at Rs90 per kg, garlic at Rs250, ginger at Rs300, peas at Rs200 per kg, cucumber at Rs50, lemon at Rs200, green chilli at Rs100, capsicum at Rs90 per kg, bitter gourd at Rs60, turnip at Rs80, cabbage at Rs80, eggplant at Rs60, okra at Rs70, carrot Rs80, apple at Rs300, apricots Rs150 per kg, leichi at Rs300 per kg and bananas at Rs120 per dozen.

Bakery shops have also increased the prices of all products by 25 per cent while multinational companies have also increased the prices of detergent powders, shampoos, shaving creams, toothpaste, all types of baby milk and pampers.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2022.