May 03, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 26, 1429

KARACHI, May 2: Consumers are paying Rs10 more for 10 kg bag of wheat flour at the utility stores after increase of Rs13 on one kg pouch of ghee and cooking oil.

Similarly, the price of super Kernal basmati and super tota (broken) rice, which were selling at Rs60 and Rs33 per kg, respectively, now carries price tags of Rs72 and Rs39 per kg.

The masoor pulse price had also been increased to Rs93 from Rs83 per kg. In the open market high quality masoor sells at Rs90-95 per kg.

The new rate of 10 kg bag of atta is Rs140 as compared to Rs130 while the Rs67 pouch for one kg ghee and cooking oil is now priced at Rs80.

No reason was offered by the authorities for increasing the prices despite subsidies.

The unilateral rise in prices of food items in the retail and wholesale markets has not yet attracted the attention of the relevant authorities.

“The increase in prices at the utility stores is unlikely to make any adverse impact on the rush of buyers as the price difference between the market and the utility stores continue to rise frequently,” USC zonal manager for Sindh and Balochistan Masood Alam Niazi told Dawn on Friday.

He said people were still coming in large numbers making long queues, especially for buying flour bags, ghee and cooking oil and two rice varieties.

He did not give a clear answer as to why the government had increased the rates of most sought after items. He said that there had been an overall increase in the prices of items due to frequent rise in petroleum prices.

As long as a big price difference exists between the market and utility stores consumers will continue to throng utility stores, he said adding if the difference comes down to Rs20-25 in rates of these items the rush of buyers might subside.

Consumers are now paying Rs220-230 for mill flour bag in the open market, which translates into a big difference of Rs90-100 per bag.

Similarly, the consumers are paying Rs140-150 per kg for a branded ghee and cooking oil at utility stores, which makes a sharp difference of Rs70-80 per kg compared with rates in the open market. The super kernel basmati is now priced at Rs105 per kg, which still makes a difference of Rs33 per kg compared with utility store price of Rs72 per kg after the increase. Basmati tota now sells at Rs54 per kg in retail markets, while at UTC it sells at Rs39 per kg, showing a difference of Rs15 per kg.

The government has fixed the minimum export price of various rice varieties but its impact in the wholesale rates is yet to be seen.

The USC is providing 25,000-30,000 bags of 10 kg flour at the 145 regular shops and franchise stores in Karachi.

However, long queues of consumers at these stores indicate that the supply appears to have outstripped the demand. There is a need for 40,000-50,000 bags at these stores to deal with the rush of buyers.

The USC has failed to control the non-genuine buyers as there is no yardstick to check their multiple presences at the stores. Many of them purchase subsidised items two to three times a day as they are reported to have been involved in forward sale of these items to retailers, and hoteliers etc.

Masood Niazi said that so far the supply of wheat from the TCP had been under control and the USC currently has enough stocks to meet the demand.

Gram pulse sells at the USC at Rs29 per kg, while it carries a price of Rs64 per kg in the retail market. Last month, gram was selling between Rs48-50 per kg in the open market.

Moong sells at Rs42 per kg at the stores as compared to Rs50-55 per kg in the market. Mash is available at Rs57 per kg while it is selling at Rs60-62 per kg in the market. Gram pulse is being retailed at Rs54 at the store as compared to Rs75 per kg in the market.

In ghee and cooking oil, currently 800-1,000 one kg pouch are being supplied at each utility store per day in Karachi as compared to 400-500 pouch two months back.