SWABI: The prices of almost all vegetables have registered a significant increase due to floods and cutting off of the district from various other vegetable-producing regions and no official check on the traders.

The price of tomato, which was selling at Rs100 per kilogramme a day before, jumped to Rs200 per kg on Saturday and in some areas of the district it was not even available in the markets.

One of the vendors told this correspondent that majority of the consumers were not in a position to afford buying tomato.

The per kilogramme price of onion jumped from Rs70 to Rs120, bitter guard from Rs70 to Rs120, cabbage from Rs70 to Rs110, ladyfinger from Rs70 to Rs120, brinjal from Rs60 to Rs120, potato from Rs60 to Rs80 and pumpkin from Rs50 to Rs90 per kg.

Similarly, the prices of fruits also increased in the district. The apple price increased from Rs150 per kg to Rs200 per kg, banana per dozen from Rs120 to Rs200, grapes from Rs120 to Rs200 per kg and guava from Rs80 to Rs110 per kg.

The price list issued by the tehsil municipal administration was openly violated and if a customer insisted on rates mentioned in it they were told by the vendors to go to another shop.

Asfandyar Khan of proper Swabi city and Umar Khan of Maneri Bala village said that the officials of the district administration and the food safety authority should take action and implement the official price list. They said that through proper monitoring of prices the administration could provide sufficient relief to the consumers.

When contacted, an official of the district administration said that they had been working to ensure implementation of the officially fixed prices of essential commodities.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2022