KARACHI, Aug 1: The last month added to the burden of kitchen budget on family income. The consumers paid higher prices for onion, potato, gram pulse, moong, ghee and cooking oil, poultry bird, egg, sugar, garlic, ginger, jam and jelly.

Traders of these commodities seem to be preparing for Ramazan by pushing the prices of essentials items northwards. Ramazan is seven weeks away.

A random price survey from July 1 to August 1 showed an increase of Rs2 in onion rates, surging to Rs12 from Rs10 per kg, while potato prices also came under pressure, rising to Rs18 from Rs17 per kg.

Haji Shahjehan, a vegetable dealer at the Subzi Mandi, Super Highway, said the wholesale price of onion surged to Rs8 from Rs6 per kg, as the NWFP crop had come to an end, while arrivals from the new Balochistan crop had started but it would take time to reach the optimum level. The new Sindh crop will arrive in October.

However, he expressed surprise that traders were charging higher rates for potato despite the fact that Iranian potato had started arriving in the wholesale markets and was available at Rs450 per 40 kg. Potatoes were also coming from Quetta’s new crop and they were selling at Rs650 per 40 kg. The price of potato, arriving from Punjab’s cold storage, ranged between Rs12 and Rs13 per kg in the Subzi Mandi.

Mr Shahjehan said tomato prices had declined owing to heavy rains, as traders were trying to sell out the commodity before it perished. He pointed out that there was no change in rates of ginger and garlic (Chinese), selling between Rs30 and Rs35 per kg in the wholesale market, but added that retailers were charging very high prices for them.

In pulses, the price of gram pulse, the king of pulses and a hot selling item of the holy month, had been on the rise, touching to Rs42 from Rs40 per kg, while moong became costlier by Rs5 to Rs65 from Rs60 per kg.

The crop of gram pulse touched only 350,000 tons this year, while the country has a carryover stock of 150,000 tons against the consumption of 750,000 tons. However, importers who brought gram black whole have yet to get a subsidy of Rs8 per kg from the State Bank, as the central bank is in the process of clearing a confusion with the commerce ministry over the name of gram as it was imported as desi chic peas.

Anis Majeed, adviser to the Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association, said moong prices were expected to fall this month, as the new crop would hit the market in the next 10-15 days. Pakistan was expecting a moong crop size of between 150,000 and 175,000 tons this year as compared to 100,000 tons last year. He said mash price had fallen in the market owing to a decline of $70 per ton in the international market. Masoor prices remained steady owing to huge stocks lying in the market as well as in the port.

Sugar prices started showing upward trend, hitting to Rs37 from Rs36 per kg last month, while loose ghee and cooking oil prices rose to Rs60 from Rs51 per kg because of an increase in 16-kg tin prices to Rs920 from Rs820 last month on account of rising palm oil prices in the world market.

Poultry people have come out to cash the demand triggered by the ongoing marriage season. Poultry live bird prices climbed to Rs90 from Rs74 per kg last month, while its meat prices peaked to Rs165 from Rs125 per kg. Egg also became dearer to Rs27 from Rs22 per dozen.

Kamal Akhtar Siddiqui, convenor, rate committee of the Karachi Wholesalers’ Poultry Association, attributed the increase to various reasons like slow arrivals from poultry farms owing to dilapidated road conditions after the rains. Besides, he said the production of birds after the bird flu scare had yet to reach the maximum level, as many poultry farm owners had culled their running flock due to bird flu while others had suspended putting new breed for production.

Kabuli channa, arriving from Iran, another hot item of Ramazan, also showed an increase of Rs4 to Rs60 from Rs56 per kg.

Makers of jam and jelly have increased the rates to Rs60 from Rs58 per bottle.

The consumers have yet to see the impact of increase in wholesale rates of wheat and atta last month at the retail side. However, bread makers had passed on the impact of rising wheat prices to the consumers last month.

The authorities, who are assigned the task of checking price hike in Ramazan, are yet to wake up, as traders have started pushing up rates to the high level so that they could dictate their terms during the price fixing exercise of essential commodities ahead of the holy month.