KARACHI, Dec 28: The burden of kitchen budget on consumers has increased over the last one year because of price hike in some pulses, sugar, meat, fresh loose milk, etc, while the rates of wheat flour varieties have either remained unchanged or dropped slightly. The rate of loose ghee and 16 kg ghee tins have not changed in the last one year.

A random market survey of prices carried out from January 2005 to December 2005, reveals an increase of seven rupees per kg in sugar price to Rs30-31 from Rs23 per kg despite import of 700,000 tons of sugar, including 250,000 tons by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) in the last one year. Besides, sugar millers were also holding some quantity of the commodity.

Mung Pulse (washed) prices surged to Rs44 from Rs32 per kg while (mung whole) prices rose to Rs38 from Rs30 per kg.

Mash price (washed), which was available at Rs35 in January, 2005, increased to Rs40 per kg in December 2005, while mash (chilka) is now priced at Rs40 as against Rs30 in January this year.

Arhar pulse rates escalated to Rs50 per kg at retail from Rs40 per kg in one year. Kabuli channa prices peaked to Rs54 from Rs46 per kg.

Masur price dropped to Rs38 from 45 per kg due to frequent imports from India, Australia and Canada.

Adviser to Karachi Wholesale Grocers Association (KWGA), Anis Majeed linked the increase in some pulses prices to rising trend in international prices coupled with thin local production.

He said that the government had reduced the withholding tax (WT) on imports to two per cent from six per cent after the 2005-06 budget which prevented the rates of pulses from further going up as global rates of pulses were flying high. The government should have taken the decision regarding cut in WT on imports in the Budget when the global rates were lower — only then consumers would have witnessed its benefit due to fall in prices. The late decision, however, proved fruitful in offsetting the negative impact of global price hike on domestic prices on import of pulses, he added.

He said in case of sugar - TCP can be blamed for price increase as it released some quantity during Ramazan at Rs23 and it was sold at Rs24 at retail stage. But it again issued a tender for sale of sugar and the commodity was lifted by the market player at Rs25 per kg. Another tender was released and sugar was lifted at Rs26.75 per kg.

Why TCP had adopted a snail pace attitude in releasing over 250,000 tons of sugar at Rs23 when the domestic markets were under pressure due to rising prices, he said.

Anis Majeed and General Secretary Karachi Retail Grocers Group, Farid Qurieshi said that sometimes the government takes time in allowing commodity import with some duty concession (in case of pulses and sugar) when the supply from local crops remains very thin.

However they said in case of atta - prices remained hovering between Rs 14-15 per kg during the whole year due to duty free wheat import of 650,000 tons mainly from Russia.

Gram pulse rates remained stable at Rs28-30 per kg due to good local crop as compared to last year.

Farid said that sugar is still costlier despite huge imports and hold over stocks by the millers.

Fresh milk, which was priced Rs25 a litre in January 2005, is now tagged at Rs28 a litre as the powerful lobby of dairy farmers overwhelmed the City government in various negotiations during Ramazan. However, the city government kept hunting the retailers during the holy month instead of putting hand on the dairy farmers and wholesalers who were the main stakeholders for raising the prices. Dairy farmers had been saying their cost of production had gone up due to increase in prices of feed stocks and other items.

Similar is the case with meat merchants, who despite paying fines and staying in jails in price checking campaign during Ramazan, finally succeeded in their efforts in pushing up price of mutton at Rs240-250 per kg from Rs230 a year back. The rate of beef (with bones) now hovers between Rs120-140 as compared to Rs 110 per kg in January 2005. Meat merchants still attribute the high price of meat to rising meat exports to Afghanistan and the Middle East besides smuggling of live animals to Afghanistan.

Rate of 16 kg ghee tin remained unchanged at Rs770 which did not make any impact on the loose ghee. Branded ghee and cooking oil producers also maintained their rates throughout the year.

Rising international crude oil prices continued to play havoc with the domestic POL prices, thus pushing up the transportation charges and making products costlier.