According to an informal survey conducted in Karachi, rising prices meant that most celebratory goods were not affordable for Christians anymore. Eighty per cent of shopping for Christmas happens in Saddar, 15 per cent in Tariq Road and the rest in other markets of the city.
Karachi Traders Action Committee Chairman and Tariq Road Traders Association President Siddiq Memon said that special arrangements are made in markets for the occasion of Christmas. Concessionary sales are usually organised at markets for the Christian community, he said but added that this year sales were down by 70 per cent due to erosion in purchasing power from rising prices.
He added that shopkeepers stocked relatively less goods this year. Some 270 containers were imported from China and Thailand this year, which marked a 48 per cent reduction from last year, said Memon.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2010.
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