KARACHI, Oct 22: As Ramazan draws near, the consumer market is witnessing price fluctuations.
Prices of chakki atta No 2.5 and potato have risen by one rupee a kg. Prices of ghee have dipped because of abundant supply of low-priced palm oil, and sugar prices have fallen due to rising inventory.
From Rs10 a kg, the price of atta No 2.5 has gone up to Rs11 a kg. In posh areas, like Tariq Road, retailers are charging Rs12 a kg, linking the rate to the wholesale price hike by Rs100 a 80 kg to Rs800 in just one week.
Potato, which had already become expensive at Rs12 a kg from Rs10 in the first week of this month, now sells at Rs13 a kg. Its wholesale price at the new Sabzimandi ranges between Rs11-Rs12 a kg.
A dealer at the Sabzimandi said potato was now in short supply in the market due to meagre supply from Punjab’s cold storages and Quetta. Besides, sizable shipments are being diverted to Peshawar to meet the rising demand there.
The shortage would be overcome when the new crop of Punjab found its way into the market in November, which would bring about some stability in prices in Ramazan.
Onion prices have fallen to Rs7 a kg from Rs8 a kg due to regular supply from the new crop of Sindh and Balochistan. Tomato prices have now settled at Rs14 a kg from Rs24 a kg as a result of supplies from the Sindh crop.
Increased supply from sugar mills has brought down the price of sugar to Rs22 a kg from Rs24 a kg in the first week of this month. The commodity was being retailed at Rs25 a kg last month. Its wholesale price is now being quoted at Rs20 a kg. In areas like Korangi and Landhi, sugar can be bought at Rs21 a kg in the retail market.
Leading ghee packers had increased the prices in September by Rs20-Rs30 a pack. Like their past practice, they are now considering providing some benefits to the consumers.
One of the leading ghee packers has announced a price cut by Rs10 a pack on its all brands of ghee and cooking oil.
The General Secretary of the Karachi Retail Grocers Group, Farid Qureshi, said Lever Brothers had slashed the prices of ghee and cooking oil by Rs10 ahead of Ramazan.
Loose ghee prices also came down to Rs44 a kg from Rs48 a kg last week due to cut in prices of 16kg-tins by Rs 40-Rs50 a tin by packers due to arrival of imported palm oil at a much cheaper rate.
In fruits, no change was seen in prices as apple varieties hover between Rs25-Rs50 a kg depending on the quality. Banana prices are tagged at Rs12-30 a dozen. Price of grapes (from Balochistan) ranges between Rs30-Rs50 a kg depending on the quality.
The arrival of trucks carrying pomegranate from Afghanistan remained unaffected as 6-7 trucks carrying 500-600 wooden crates are arriving daily at the Sabzimandi. However, there is a 30 per cent decline in the arrival of trucks as compared to previous year, but it is because of a relatively bad crop. Pomegranate can be bought at Rs40-Rs50 a kg.
Retailers ruled out any panic buying activities in the wake of the attack on Afghanistan by the US, saying buyers were already groaning under a double-digit inflation.
