KARACHI: Vegetables have become dearer after the general elections and the retailers are putting the blame on rising wholesale prices.

The wholesale market off the Superhighway was closed on July 25 on account of elections. As a result, supplies from up-country remained suspended, wholesalers said.

Similar to past practices, retailers are fully cashing in by pushing up rates by more than double from the wholesale rate on which they had procured vegetables from Sabzimandi. The city administration once again has failed in checking the steep rise in prices of vegetables, thus leaving consumers at the mercy of greedy retailers.

Retailers in various areas are demanding Rs80 per kg for tomatoes which had easily been available at Rs40-50 per kg before the general elections. The very next day of the election tomatoes were selling at Rs100 per kg.

While most of the retailers have kept the prices of onion and potato pegged at Rs30 per kg, pushcart dealers and retailers in posh areas are charging Rs40.

Cucumber price swelled to Rs80 per kg from Rs60, followed by a rise in pointed gourd (loki) to Rs70-80 from Rs60.

Retailers said the price of cabbage surged to Rs160 per kg the day after the election from Rs50-60 per kg; now it has settled at Rs100 per kg.

The price of ridged gourd (turai) rose to Rs80 per kg from Rs45-50 per kg, while the price of apple gourd (tinda) climbed up to Rs100 per kg from Rs60-70 per kg.

An increase of Rs20 per kg was recorded in brinjal to Rs60 from Rs40 per kg; taro root (arvi) went up to Rs80 from Rs60 per kg. Retailers said capsicum had reached Rs120 per kg soon after the polls, but now stood at Rs80 per kg; before the polls it was priced at Rs60-70 per kg.

The price of cauliflower rose to Rs80 from Rs60 per kg, while the prices of ginger and garlic remained unchanged.

A wholesaler in Sabzimandi said the onion crop of Balochistan is under pressure as it is almost feeding the entire Pakistan. As a result its wholesale price posted showed a rise of Rs five to Rs10 per kg. Onion is also being exported.

He said the wholesale price of tomatoes, also arriving from Balochistan, had risen to Rs70 from Rs40-50 per kg.

He said the supply of tomatoes from Punjab, which started in May, is also coming to an end; supplies from Khyber Paktunkhwa were also slow as the crop was coming to an end. Potato is arriving from Punjab’s cold storage.

Country’s vegetable exports posted positive growth of 38 per cent in quantity and 30.5 per cent in value during 2017-2018. Exports rose to 875,269 tonnes fetching $214 million versus 632,246 tonnes earning $185 million in 2016-2017.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2018