ISLAMABAD, April 7: Price of 15 essential kitchen items including tomatoes have registered substantial increase during the week ended on April 6, 2007 over the previous week, statistics division said on Saturday.

Essential kitchen items are witnessing upward trend in price for the last two consecutive weeks. These include tomatoes, red chillies, edible oil, LPG cylinder and various varieties of rice.Official figures released here by Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) showed that price of tomatoes increased by 14 per cent to Rs14.17 per kg as against Rs12.43; an increase of 2.35 per cent in red chillies, which stood at Rs105.58 per kg during the week under review as against Rs103.16.

The price of LPG 11-kg cylinder increased by 2.03pc to Rs585.94 from Rs574.31, vegetable ghee loose up by 1.49pc to Rs74.79 per kg as against Rs73.69, 1. chicken farm by 35pc to Rs79.39 per kg from Rs78.33, lawn by 0.98pc to Rs79.59 per metre from Rs78.82; rice Irri-6 by 0.94pc to Rs19.41 per kg as against Rs19.23, voil printed by 0.64pc to Rs38.02 per metre as against Rs37.78, beef by 0.62pc to Rs120 per kg as against Rs119.60.

The price of firewood increased by 0.59pc to Rs200.78 per 40-kg as against Rs199.60, mustard oil by 0.42pc to Rs83.66 per kg as against Rs83.31, bath soap (Lifebouy) by 0.42pc to Rs14.18 per cake as against Rs14.12 and rice basmati broken by 0.35pc to Rs25.72 per kg as against Rs25.63.

And the price of mutton up by 0.13pc to Rs227.86 per kg as against Rs227.56 and mash pulse washed 0.07pc to Rs71.55 per kg as against Rs71.50.

Weekly inflation measured through sensitive price indictor (SPI) declined by 0.24 per cent during the week ending April 6, as compared to the previous week. The decrease in SPI was recorded for all income groups.