As the rupee crashed to an all-time low against the US dollar, the prices of food items, especially imported ones, skyrocketed instantly in the Rawalpindi district.
The prices of cooking oil, banaspati ghee, rice and pulses have spiraled out of control in the open market while a city-wide shortage of ghee and cooking oil has also created a crisis.
The dealers of the wholesale markets have announced issuing revised prices of pulses, ghee, cooking oil, rice, and white gram from Saturday (today), increasing them in alignment with the dollar rate.
On Friday, the wholesale dealers held back the supply of various commodities across the district and started consultation regarding the current situation.
Their supply will be started today after the issuance of the new prices. It’s worth noting here that cooking oil, banaspati ghee, and pulses are imported from foreign countries and their price has also increased due to the increase in the dollar rate.
In the open market, rice is available at Rs410 per kg, Ghee at Rs550 per kg, cooking oil at Rs600 per litre, white gram at Rs400, and chickpea is available at Rs300 per kg.
The Central Grocery Merchants Association has demanded that the price control magistrates should be stopped from working in the district and the fines imposed against shopkeepers should be withdrawn due to the high flight of the dollar.
President Saleem Pervaiz Butt told The Express Tribune that the prices of imported food items have soared due to the continuous depreciation of the rupee.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2023.
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