ISLAMABAD, April 15: The wholesale price of major commodities has increased by 8.51 per cent during March, 2006 over the same month last year.

Official figures available with Dawn indicated that the wholesale price rose by 0.07 per cent in the month under review over the previous month of February, 2006.

An analysis of the products showed that the wholesale price of food items rose by 5.89pc, raw materials 8.94pc, fuel, lighting and lubricants 22.71pc, manufacturing 2.13pc during March over the same month of last year.

The main commodities, which showed an increase in their prices during the month of March over February, 2006 were — Food: potatoes (11.56pc), tomatoes (6.90pc), meat (4.92pc), fresh fruits (3.93pc), jawar (3.35pc), beverages (2.48pc), fruit prepared/preserved (2.18pc), vegetables prepared/preserved (1.63pc), mash (1.56pc), fresh milk (1.40pc), gram split (1.34pc), powdered milk (1.28pc), salt (1.25pc), gram-whole (1.23pc) and mineral water (1.13pc).

Raw materials: tobacco (2.28pc). Fuel, lighting and lubricants: furnace oil (2.11pc). Building materials: bricks (5.10pc and cement (3.03pc).

The whole sale price of commodities, which declined during the period under review were—chicken (18.49pc), eggs (18.15pc), vegetables (10.63pc), masoor (6.60pc), sugar refined (3.09pc), mustard and rapeseed oil (2.71pc), onions (2.40pc), beans (1.98pc), maize (1.89pc), wheat (1.70pc), bajra (1.54pc), oil cakes (1.14pc), pig iron (13.04pc), skins (3.77pc), mustard/rapeseed (3.39pc), cotton (2.42pc), hides (1.96pc), coke (14.47pc), tubes (1.02pc), blended yarn (1.01pc) and iron bars and steels (1.05pc).