Pulse prices shoot up in wholesale market

The grocery and wholesale dealers at Dalgran Bazaar's wholesale market have increased the wholesale prices of all pulses to historic levels. The soaring prices have forced business organisations to appeal for a nationwide seven-day complete shutter-down strike in protest against the new taxes, holding tax, and record price hikes.

The current wholesale price daal mash is Rs24,000 per maund (Rs 600 per kg), white chickpeas Rs15,200 per maund (Rs380 per kg), daal chana Rs14,600 per maund (Rs 365 per kg), daal masoor from Rs12,800 to Rs13,600 per maund (Rs320/Rs340 per kg) and daal moong is available in Rs13,200 per maund (Rs330 per kg).

Saleem Parvez Butt, an office-bearer of the General Grocery Merchants Association, highlights the discrepancy in official prices. He says daal channa is sold at Rs365 per kg in the wholesale market, but the Deputy Commissioner (DC) expects retailers to sell daal channa at Rs245 per kg.

"How can we sell daal chana for Rs245 per kg if we buy it at Rs365 per kg at wholesale in addition to the costs of transportation, shop taxes, profits and shopping bags," Butt said and proposed that if retailers were allowed an additional Rs50 per kg margin, the official rate might be acceptable. However, if this concession was not granted, the grocery merchants of Rawalpindi would stop selling essential grocery items at official rates, he warned.

Butt appealed to the leaders of Pakistan's four major business organisations -- Kashif Chaudhary, Ajmal Baloch, Sherjeel Mir and Shahid Ghafoor Pracha – to give a call for countrywide protest against the financial woes of traders during the current government's tenure.

He further urged the trade leaders to pass on their genuine demands to the government.