Disregard for Official Prices Continues Unabated Before Eid

Islamabad, July 29 (Online Int’l): With Eid-ul-Azha around the corner, traders fleeced customers shopping for everyday commodities in most parts of the country in complete disregard of the officially notified prices, says the 13th Weekly Price Monitor issued by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

The official prices of mutton, beef, and chicken lacked enforcement in more than a third of the surveyed districts across Pakistan. The routine vegetables potatoes, onions, and tomatoes were sold at higher than officially notified prices in half of the regions, wheat flour in a quarter of the districts, and sugar 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 14 in Punjab, 12 each in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 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 sugar, wheat, and onion rates shot up.

Among the 29 regions where the wheat flour prices for the last two weeks were available, 14  seven in KP, five in Balochistan, and two in Punjab recorded one percent (Rs10) to 14 percent (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—Lower Kohistan, Mardan, and Khushab—but they were still much higher than the official rates. The remaining 12 districts did not record any change over the past fortnight.

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