Ramazan approaches, Pindi caught unprepared

With no subsidised stores, pulses and gram prices jump by Rs1,000 per maund

RAWALPINDI:

With the arrival of Ramazan just weeks away, district administration preparations remain virtually non-existent, raising fears of severe price shocks for poor and middle-income families.

This year, no subsidised Ramazan bazaars will be set up, while Utility Stores have also been shut down, heightening concerns of record inflation during the holy month.

As of Monday, January 12—37 days before Ramazan—prices of white gram (both fine and coarse), chickpea lentils, red beans, gram flour and mash lentils were increased by Rs1,000 per maund in the open market.

Traders have also sounded the alarm over further price hikes in the next eight to ten days. Observers warn that Ramazan 2026 could bring economic devastation for salaried classes and low-income households.

The district administration has decided not to establish subsidised Ramazan bazaars. In Rawalpindi, 16 such bazaars had been set up annually since 1986 during the era of former president Pervez Musharraf, but these were shut down in 2025 and will not resume in Ramazan 2026.

Utility Stores, which traditionally offered subsidised sehri and iftar items during Ramazan, have also ceased operations, with the subsidy programme discontinued this year.

The absence of Utility Stores and Ramazan bazaars in 2026 has already triggered a sharp and early surge in prices of food and essential commodities, including Ramazan-specific items, vegetables and fruits.

After wheat flour and fine flour, prices of gram flour, pulses and white gram have spiralled completely out of control. Following the latest increase, white gram is now being sold at Rs500 per kilogram in the open market.

Ghulam Qadir Mir, President of the Central Anjuman-e-Tajran Sabzi Mandi, said Ramazan was just around the corner, but the administration had failed to devise any demand-and-supply mechanism for vegetables and fruits.

He noted that consumption of vegetables and fruits rises significantly during Ramazan, yet no import orders had been placed with India, Iran or Afghanistan. Domestic produce, he warned, would meet only 50 per cent of demand, pushing prices "through the roof."

Salim Parvez Butt, divisional president of the Kiryana Merchant Association, said the new week began with a record Rs1,000 per maund increase in prices of gram flour, chickpea lentils, white gram and mash lentils in the open market, with further increases expected.

He said the district administration had made no Ramazan preparations and urged immediate import orders for pulses, rice, sugar, wheat flour, white gram and beans.