KARACHI: The pressure on common people struggling to balance their family finances has mounted as prices of key kitchen items like flour, chicken and sugar moved up in the middle of the holy month.

The price of sugar, which rose of Rs62-64 per kg ahead of Ramazan from Rs60 in May, has now swelled to Rs65. Its official rate, issued by Commissioner Karachi, is fixed at Rs61.

In the absence of any check by federal, provincial and local authorities, the market players are said to be manipulating in a month when demand is high and somewhat inelastic. The stakeholders across the value chain traded the blame shifting the responsibility of price hike on each other.

Federal Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastagir Khan held a meeting on July 3 to ensure stability in sugar prices. The meeting was convened on the directives of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet and was attended by the representatives of the ministries of commerce and industries, and Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA).

The meeting directed PSMA to raise the commodity’s supply in the open market to maintain prices at a reasonable level.

According to a press release of the commerce ministry, the PSMA informed the meeting that the country has sugar stocks of 3.8 million tonnes, sufficient to cater to the country’s demand till next April. The minor rise in prices was because of the sudden increase in demand for the commodity during Ramazan, the association argued.

According to figures of large-scale manufacturing (LSM), sugar production in July-April 2014-15 dropped by seven per cent to 5.125m tonnes from 5.523m tonnes a year ago.

By contrast, exports were thriving, rising to 673,965 tonnes ($306m) in July-May 2014-15 from 579,422 tonnes ($255m) in the same period last fiscal year, a jump of 16pc in quantity and 20pc in value. Sugar imports also inched up to 9,702 tonnes ($6m) from 8,803 tonnes ($5.6m).

FLOUR: The commodity’s prices, which were stable during the first 12 days of Ramazan, have crawled up despite huge wheat stocks in the markets and provincial government’s godowns due to better crop and carry-over stocks from last year.

The rate of 10kg Ashrafi and Bake Parlour flour rose to Rs420 from Rs400-410 per bag, retailers said, blaming millers for the hike.

One miller said he has raised Rs10 on a 10kg bag while the rate of another flour variety has been kept unchanged at Rs350. He said prices may go up by Rs20 on the bag in view of 0.6pc advance income tax on bank transactions made by non-filers of tax returns, and imposition of 5pc general sales tax on bran (chokker).

He said millers, in a meeting in Lahore on Monday, decided to close down the mills next week in case the government did not withdraw the above two taxes.

CHICKEN: A number of retailers are charging Rs220 per kg for live chicken bird and up to Rs400 for its meat compared to earlier rates of Rs210 and Rs380, respectively.

Due to competition, retailers in big markets have kept prices of live bird at Rs210 per kg, but are selling its meat at Rs340-360 per kg (neck, liver and other organs included).

The city government, instead of controlling the prices, continues to push up the rates of chicken live bird and its meat, giving retailers an excuse to raise prices.

Commissioner Karachi raised live bird and its meat prices to Rs154 and Rs230 per kg two days ago from Rs152 and Rs228.

The official rates were Rs140 and Rs220 per kg, respectively, on June 21, and Rs134 and Rs200 in May.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2015

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