February 2, 2006	Thursday	Muharram 3, 1427

KARACHI, Feb 1: Consumers are paying higher prices to buy onion, potato, sugar, etc. This, however, was compensated to an extent by stability in prices of pulses and some vegetables and a major drop in poultry products’ rates.

Sugar continued to remain in the limelight for the last two weeks, as the consumers are still paying Rs35-36 per kg at the retail stage in various areas, a random market survey from January 1 to Feb 1, 2006 revealed.

The government has directed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to import 50,000 tons of sugar from India as soon as possible to stabilize prices. However, the prices remained under pressure despite over 480,000 tons of sugar lying with the mills and around 150,000 tons of stock held by the TCP.

The sugarcane output has declined to 45 million tons from 47 million tons in the last production year because of low rainfall and conversion of sugar-growing land to cotton. Country’s sugar output is expected to decline to between 2.8 and 3.0 million tons in the production year that began in November from 3.2 million tons in the previous year.

Wholesalers think that Pakistan may need 600,000-900,000 tons of sugar in the next six to eight months to meet domestic needs and controlprices. However, they maintain that the import of sugar from India will not be workable owing to rising prices. It will cost over Rs33 per kg in Pakistan, they added.

As a large number of consumers are paying Rs35-36 per kg at retail stage, many are undergoing a mind boggling experience in purchasing the commodity from the utility stores.

Market sources said that a large queue of consumers was witnessed daily at the utility stores to have sugar at Rs23 per kg, but only fewer people could get it while others returned empty handed owing to shortage of daily allotted quota.

A UTC official did not agree that people were facing problems at 36 stores in the city. He said each store sold 300-400 packets of five kg each daily which meant that a buyer could buy only five kg of sugar on the spot.

The store official has to ensure that only genuine buyers get sugar instead of retailers and shopkeepers. He said from Tuesday the stores had also started selling a two-kg bag of sugar.

The government last week announced that it had doubled the supply of sugar to the utility stores, but it seems that the stores are yet to receive the enhanced supplies.

The price of onion surged to Rs12 from Rs10 per kg, despite the fact that its wholesale price is hovering between Rs5 and Rs6 per kg.

According to a vegetable dealer, the potato price was going up owing to a massive damage to its crop. At wholesale, it is available at Rs12 per kg, which was Rs6-7 per kg last year because of good crop. He said potato was also being shifted to cold storages and its export was also going on.

The price of ginger at the wholesale stage is Rs40 per kg but retailers are still charging last month’s rate of Rs80 per kg. Garlic price has plunged to Rs60 from Rs72 due to frequent imports from China. Its wholesale price ranges between Rs40 and Rs45 per kg.

The dealer said tomato prices remained stable, as shipments from Sindh to Punjab had slowed down due to arrivals of tomato from India in Punjab.

Due to lower production of cucumber and gourd, their prices at the Subzi Mandi had touched Rs50 per kg, which had been ranging between Rs10 and Rs15 per kg for a couple of years because of good crop, he said.

Rates of majority of pulses remained unchanged as they were already very high because of rising prices in the international market.

The price of Kabuli channa has surged to Rs60 from Rs54 due to costlier imports from Australia.

Traders have been exporting moong pulse for the last five years, but this year they are importing it from Burma due to lower crop in Pakistan.

Poultry products’ prices have dropped sharply. The price of live poultry declined to Rs56 per kg from Rs76 a month back. Its meat price came down to Rs100 per kg from Rs120. Similarly, the price of egg dropped to Rs28 per dozen from Rs47 sold a month ago.

Karachi Wholesale Poultry Association General-Secretary Kamal Akhtar Siddiqui said that a low demand in Muharram coupled with 4-5 per cent mortality rate this winter as compared to 15-20 per cent last year had resulted in a decline in prices. As a result, there had been enough production against the demand these days, he added.