KARACHI: City govt, traders lock horns over prices issue
By Aamir Shafaat Khan
KARACHI, Sept 12: Traders and the city government are at loggerheads over the prices of rice and pulses for Ramazan with the former seeking intervention by city nazim and the latter seemed not ready for amendment to the rate list finalised and issued on Sunday.
The city government claims that it has fixed the prices of pulses and rice after conducting a detailed survey of markets in all 18 towns of the city besides holding meetings with the stakeholders and associations.
A press release issued by the city government maintained that it had made the entire price-fixing process transparent. The price list had been finalised at a meeting where representatives of associations of both consumers of traders were present, it added.
It declared that strict compliance of the price list during Ramazan would be ensured as the government had fixed the prices with the consent of all stakeholders.
Selected DDOs (Revenue), mukhtiarkars and assistant mukhtiarkars have been delegated special magisterial powers under Section 14-A of the Cr.PC by the Sindh government with the approval of the chief justice of Sindh High Court to monitor prices and curb profiteering.
The 62 special magistrates will conduct surprise raids to check prices and ensure availability of essential commodities to consumers at the controlled rates during Ramazan.
The city government believes that meat merchants wanted beef and mutton prices re-fixed at a higher side.
Malik Zulfiqar Ali of the Karachi Wholesale Grocers Association has also approached City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal through a letter to get the prices of rice and pulses revised, maintaining that the rates quoted in the price list for Ramazan differed from those prevailing in the market at present.
He argued that pulses and rice were either imported or brought to Karachi from Punjab and interior Sindh but there was no check on the prices offered to wholesalers upon the arrival of the stocks in the city. “How could the wholesalers sell their merchandise at the rates lower than the purchase prices?” he questioned.
Urging the city nazim to take the association into confidence on the issue, he said that fixing prices of such items would be possible only when the rates at the stage of supply to wholesalers in Karachi were also fixed.
He apprehended that any arbitrary decision might lead to disruption in supplies to local dealers and this would ultimately create a shortage.
Iqbal Qureshi, General Secretary of the Meat Merchants Welfare Association, said that members of his organisation were ready to offer Rs10 per kg discount on beef and mutton during Ramazan but the city government was trying to take a decision at its own.
He recalled that EDO E&IP Syed Abid Ali Shah and other officials present at the Sept 6 meeting had agreed to fix mutton grade-1 and 2 prices at Rs250 and Rs240 per kg, respectively. The per kilogramme prices of bachhia (Rs140), cow/buffalo with bones (Rs110) and cow/buffalo boneless (Rs150) had also been agreed upon.
However, he added, the DCO issued a price list on Sept 10 that contained beef and mutton rates lower by up to Rs30 per kg.
He said that association would approach the governor, chief minister and city nazim to get the prices revised. He maintained that the government should ensure availability of live animal and meat at reduced prices to meat sellers if it insisted on the compliance of the price list.
President of the Falahi Anjuman Wholesale Vegetable Market, Super Highway, Haji Shahjehan said that the prices of fruits and vegetables should be fixed on a daily basis as was decided before Ramazan last year.
He pointed out that current monsoon rains had caused considerable damage to onion crop while the commodity was to arrive in October. Currently, the crop arriving in city from Balochistan was available to wholesalers at Rs10-12 per kg.
He said that fresh crops from Sindh had started arriving the city but there had been more torrential rains which played havoc with the standing crop, leading to a halt to further supplies. He, however, added that the supply of onion from Balochistan would continue till November/December.
Owing to the supply of tomatoes from India via Wahga border, the wholesale prices of this commodity have dropped to Rs20-25 per kg from Rs70-80 per kg over the past many weeks. The Indian tomatoes are being marketed in the Punjab and NWFP areas whereas the crop from Balochistan is marketed in Sindh. The 25-kg pack of Indian tomatoes is available at Rs500-600 in Lahore.
Karachi is receiving potato from Punjab’s cold storages and in some quantity from Iran. Currently, potato is available at Rs15-16 per kg in wholesale markets. Prices of ginger and garlic (from China) have remained stable for quite some time and, at present, these items are selling at Rs40-45 per kg.
Haji Shahjehan maintained that demand of vegetables in Remazan often remained normal and so far the city had not faced any shortage.
The much sought after commodity in Ramazan appeared to be fruits and due to the increase in demand, retailers would always resort to fleecing consumers charging exorbitantly high rates. Despite all efforts made by the city government last year, prices of fruits could not be brought down in Ramazan to a reasonable level.
