KARACHI, Jan 4: The last year proved nerve-wracking for the consumers who groaned under the massive increase in price of almost every essential item particularly food items - onion, milk, ghee and cooking oil, tea, pulses, meat, flour varieties etc.

There must be some increase in incomes of working class but the unprecedented increase in prices had offset the impact of this nominal rise in salaries for the majority during the year 2006. However, this abrupt increase in prices did not affect the domestic budgets of executives and top salaried class.

A price survey conducted by Dawn from January 1, 2006 to January 4, 2007 reveals 180 per cent increase in price of onion owing mainly to over 80 per cent damage to Sindh crop caused by July-October rains. Currently people are consuming substandard Indian onion however its frequent imports have kept the rates at Rs28 per kg. At the start the Indian onion was selling at Rs35 per kg.

Almost all the pulses remained under pressure throughout the year due to costly imports, damage to crops because of weather conditions, higher transportation cost etc.

Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association (KWGA) Chairman Anis Majeed told Dawn that unless the government did not initiate measures to increase local production there would be problems of higher prices.

In case of gram pulse, he said that local crop stood at 350,000 tons while there were 150,000 tons of carryover stocks as against the annual consumption of 750,000 tons. Importers brought in Australian and other countries’ gram pulse but costlier imports flared up rates at the local markets.

In fresh milk, stakeholders of the industry continued to build up pressure on the city government for increasing the rates and they had increased the prices arbitrarily to Rs34 per litre from Rs28 per litre.

The milk prices have been appreciating frequently for the last five years under various successive governments who appeared least bothered in protecting the interests of consumers and contrary engaged in striking under-the-table deals with the stakeholders.

To show some sympathy, the city governments launched the crusade against the milk sellers but on the other side their officials had been negotiating some kind of deal, thus allowing the powerful milk producers to freely increase the rates.

Mutton and beef retailers also followed the footsteps of milk traders in increasing the rates and the city government had been watching the situation simply instead of taking any stern action.

Meat merchants had been clamoring over the rising exports of meat and livestock to neighboring countries while the federal and provincial governments had not paid any attention to counter check their claims thus giving them free hand to increase the prices.Branded ghee and cooking oil producers had raised the prices of their products two times during the year owing to increase in international price of palm olein (a basic raw material used in making ghee and cooking oil).Tea packers, taking the pretext of higher prices in Kenya, also jacked up the rates phenomenally. Flour varieties had also become dearer due to increase in wheat prices which pushed up the price of bread, nan, sheermal, taftan etc.

Vegetable prices move both ways depending on the demand and supply situation relating to crop situation and arrival of imported consignments. Poultry industry traders have been playing with the rates on weekly basis. They increase the rates quickly when ever demand outstrips supplies especially in the marriage season and take time in reducing the rates.