Traders charging higher prices ahead of Eid: FAFEN

ISLAMABAD: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) issued its Weekly Price Monitor which pointed out that with Eid-ul-Azha around the corner, traders across the country are charging high prices to customers shopping for everyday commodities in complete disregard of the officially notified prices.

The Monitor highlighted that the official prices of mutton, beef, and chicken lacked enforcement in more than a third of the surveyed districts across Pakistan. Routine vegetables including potatoes, onions, and tomatoes were sold at higher than officially notified prices in half of the regions.

Moreover, wheat flour was sold at a price higher than notified in a quarter of the districts while sugar was sold at a higher price in a third of the areas.

This Weekly Price Monitor comprises a market survey of the prices of 15 essential groceries conducted on Thursday, July 23, 2020, in 43 cities out of which 14 cities are in Punjab, 12 each in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and five in Sindh.

A comparison among market prices noted during the last two weeks showed a changing trend in the market prices of essential commodities. The prices of chicken and tomatoes generally went down, while prices of sugar, wheat, and onion shot up.

Among the 29 regions where the wheat flour prices for the last two weeks were available, 14, out of which seven were in KP, five in Balochistan, and two in Punjab, recorded one per cent (Rs10) to 14 per cent (Rs150) increase in prices. 

Lahore and Multan also registered an increase in the wholesale rates of wheat flour over the past two weeks. The market prices in these two districts were Rs140 to Rs220 higher than the official ones. 

On the other hand, the market price of wheat recorded a slight slump in three areas which include Lower Kohistan, Mardan, and Khushab. However, the prices were still much higher than the official rates. The remaining 12 districts did not record any change over the past fortnight.

Like wheat, the price of sugar registered an eight per cent (Rs7) decrease in Lasbela, whereas 18 districts witnessed a surge of up to 13 per cent (Rs1 to Rs10). However, in 13 areas, the rates mostly remained stable.

The market price of chicken saw a two per cent to 41 per cent (Rs4 to Rs115) decline in 17 districts, mostly in KP and Punjab. On the other hand, seven areas, mainly in Sindh and Balochistan, recorded a hike with the highest 45 per cent (Rs90) increase in Dadu. However, in five districts of Balochistan, poultry prices remained stable.

Among vegetables, the market price of potatoes remained mostly stable except for the mountainous districts of KP and some regions of Balochistan where they recorded an up to 33 per cent (Rs20) increase. The prices of onions witnessed a 14 per cent (Rs5) to 169 per cent (Rs44) rise in 13 districts, four each in Punjab and KP, three in Balochistan, and two in Sindh. 

However, the prices of tomatoes declined in many areas with the most significant drop of 58 per cent (Rs70) recorded in Washuk.