KARACHI, Oct 1: Prices of essential items showed a mixed trend during the last one month depicting increase in prices of onion and tomato mainly and decline in prices of pulses, flour varieties, poultry, fresh milk etc.

Prices of good quality onion surged to Rs24 per kg as compared with Rs18 due to shortage in the country because of the rising demand. Currently, onion is arriving only from Balochistan crop in small quantities while Sindh crop will start arriving from mid November.

A sizable demand is met through imports from Kabul and Iran. Chairman Falahi Anjuman Wholesale Vegetable Market Haji Shahjehan said that some 400 tons had been arriving daily from these two destinations during the last one month to meet the demand.

Kabul’s onion finds the way into Punjab and NWFP, while Iranian onion is being consumed in Sindh. The landed cost of the imported onion comes to Rs15 per kg but in the Sabzi Mandi it is available at Rs18-20 per kg.

In tomato, he said some Indian quantity is arriving in Punjab while short quantity is coming from Balochistan crop. Sindh’s new crop will arrive in November. The commodity is priced between Rs25-30 per kg in Sabzi Mandi, he said.

According to a market survey from September 1 to October 1, 2007, the fixing of prices in all the pulses by the city government had provided some relief to the consumers in the shape of price decline.

However, prices had already gone up sharply before the holy month. The prices would again revert to high level after Ramazan in case the price regulator does not resume price checking campaign.However, in wheat flour varieties there has been a decline in prices but it cannot be termed a big relief as consumers had already paid Rs3 to 4 per kg more in atta prices ahead of the holy month.

Poultry rates had also fallen sharply in view of frequent supplies from the poultry farms and low demand in the holy month. Milk prices had also come down by Rs2 per litre.