KARACHI, Oct 16: Fruit, vegetable and milk sellers have been continuing their looting spree, charging exorbitantly higher prices of their merchandize than those of official rates, as the city government machinery has diverted its focus to the collection of relief funds and goods for earthquake victims.
Fruit retailers are charging Rs40-60 per kg for guava in most markets as compared to the official rate of Rs16 per kg while melon is being retailed at Rs15-20 per kg as against Rs12 per kg. Official rate of banana is Rs18 per dozen but it is being charged at Rs20-25 per dozen. Same is the case of apple as it is hardly available at official price.
Fruit and vegetable retailers having their outlets far from main markets are more active in fleecing consumers than those who have their sale points within the markets. There is virtually no check by the city government on fruit sellers who are selling both low and high quality at the price of high quality fruits.
To some extent consumers are may be held equally responsible in this regard as the well-off consumers, who would usually come to vendors in their shining cars and would not bother paying higher prices. In most cases, they would send their drivers to the stalls to fetch fruits or vegetables. This encourages profiteers.
Most often, these wealthy customers would buy fruits in bulk without seeking any discounts. By doing this, they ultimately neutralize efforts by middle and lower-middle class customers to force the fruit and vegetable vendors to comply with the official price list.
Retail markets in our country have a very bad culture where the customers who know that they are being fleeced by retailers would not lodge a complaint at the relevant centres or with the officials concerned. This lethargic attitude encourages those traders and shopkeepers who are bent upon fleecing customers and defying official price list. Fruit retailers maintain that they procure fruits at higher rates from wholesale markets but the city government officials say that they are twisting facts as most fruits are available in abundance at the Sabzi Mandi and also at reasonable prices.
There is hardly any vegetable retailer following the official price list. Almost all are busy minting money by indulging in overcharging.
Milk continues to sell at Rs28 per litre as against the official rate of Rs25 a litre but the city government is yet to take the wholesalers and dairy farmers to the task while only retailers are being challaned for overcharging. Sugar is also selling at Rs26-27 per kg in various areas as against the official rate of Rs25 per kg.
City government officials are making efforts to check price-hike by imposing fines mostly on fruit, milk and vegetable sellers but the practice has so far proved an exercise in futility as the field force required for the purpose is quite inadequate to establish writ in this regard in a city of over 15 million population.
The city government failure in controlling prices may be due to the fact that a large number of its officers are engaged in collecting relief funds and goods for quake victims although it has come out with a big team of over 80 officials with magisterial powers this year as compared to seven assigned the task last year.
