KARACHI, March 31: The prices of essential items moved both ways in the last one month in which ghee and cooking oil, powdered milk, mash and arhar pulses registered increase while sugar, gram pulse, onion and poultry showed decrease.

According to price survey conducted by Dawn from March 1 to March 31, the prices of ghee and cooking oil had been under pressure as the world RBD palm olien price had jumped phenomenally and the local producers had been passing on this impact on the consumers frequently.

Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) on March 26 again urged Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to rationalise the customs duty and other taxes on imported edible oil to check the rise in domestic prices for the relief of consumers.

In packed milk, a leading player had increased the rate while others followed the suit. The federal and provincial governments appeared helpless in rescuing the general public from frequent increase in prices. Even the fresh milk price issue had still been lingering on for more than five months and the consumers were the ultimate losers.

In pulses, arhar pulse became costlier to Rs52 per kg from Rs48 per kg due to costlier imports from Burma. Huge demand from India had pushed up the rates of arhar in Burma to $550 per ton from $300 per ton last month.

Chairman Karachi Wholesale Grocers Association (KWGA) Anis Majeed said that rate of Canadian Masur pulse had surged by $100 per ton, thus pushing up the wholesale rate to Rs38 from Rs34 per kg last month. Retailers are charging Rs44 per kg.

Gram pulse price had fallen owing to expected 800,000 to one million tons arrival of local crop by April 15. Sugar priced had fallen owing to frequent supplies from the local mills thus keeping wholesale rate between Rs27.50-30 per kg.Among the losers, onion prices had fallen to Rs12 from Rs20 per kg thanks to the arrival of full Sindh crop. However, retailers were not passing on the real decline prices to the consumers as the commodity was being sold at Rs4-5 per kg at wholesale market, thus inflicting huge losses to the growers’, president Falahi Anjuman Wholesale Vegetable Market New Subzi Mandi Haji Shahjehan said.

He said arrival of potato from Punjab had kept the rate stable but again retailers were making windfall as they were lifting the commodity at Rs6-7 per kg from the wholesalers and charging Rs12 per kg from the buyers. Tomato from Sindh crop was priced at Rs5-6 per kg at wholesale stage but consumers were paying Rs10 per kg.

General secretary Karachi Wholesalers Poultry Association (KWPA) Kamal Akhtar Siddiqui said that poultry products had been on the decline owing to better supplies from the poultry farms. However, he said that rates had surged to Rs80 from last week’s Rs76 per kg. The rates would witness fluctuation depending on the demand triggered by Rabiul Awal buying and ongoing marriage season.

He said change of weather to summer from cold had resulted in decline in egg rates to Rs32 per dozen from Rs42 per dozen on March 1, 2007.