The package, which envisages a relief of Rs1490 million, covers a wide range of items, and this time there would be no binding upon consumers to buy one item against another.
Officials say that a consumer can save at least Rs320 on purchase of items worth Rs1,000 from the Utility Stores as compared to market rates.
The USC offers relief packages, involving around 450 food and non-food items during the month of Ramazan every year.
According to the USC's fiscal reports, an approximate relief worth Rs125.24 billion had so far been provided to the public during the last 10 years with per year average relief of Rs12.52 billion.
Syed Mehtab Binori, Regional Manager USC, says the package is to mitigate the financial hardship of the consumer as well as counter market manipulation of prices of the daily-use items. He hopes the poor will be provided essential items of daily use at prices comparatively lower than in the market.
However, many traders describe the Ramazan Package 2007 as a political gimmick, which comes every year to hush up public protests over price spiral ahead of the holy month of Ramazan.
Sharafat Ali Mubarik, general secretary of the Tanzeem-i-Tajiran, NWFP, says that unveiling these so-called relief packages depicts dual standards of the ruling alliance's economic policies.
The government, in his view, on the one hand, was talking about open market and trade liberalisation and signing free trade pacts with a number of countries; at the domestic level, it is maintaining a state-dominated economy, where one state-run institution is allowed to act as a major player.
Market liberalisation, according to him, brings competitiveness, which ultimately offers consumers an opportunity to get quality products at lower prices. The market cannot function properly through such type of politically- motivated packages.
Mr Sharafat believes that the so-called Ramazan Package 2007 cannot play any significant role in lowering the prices of daily-use items because a major part of the population has no access to these utility stores.
Officials at the USC concede that the existing number of utility stores doesn't cater to the needs of majority of consumers. They, however, say the government plans to open stores at union council level.
Break-up of regular outlets and franchise stores placed on USC web-site, shows that a total 2,456 utility stores are operating across the country mostly in Punjab and Sindh. Of the total outlets, 1,880 are regular stores, whereas the remaining 576 are operating as franchise stores.
The number of utility stores has been increased substantially from 400 last year, to 1600 July this year. More stores are being opened to provide maximum relief to consumers particularly those living in remote parts.
Shaukat Ali Khan, another trader-leader, says even with opening of new utility stores, the poor segment of the society cannot be provided substantial relief through the Ramazan package.
He argues: "Major part of the population is depended on open market, where the government has completely lost its control over prices of items of daily use-- within justified limits-- mainly because of widening gap between demand and supply. It is the prime responsibility of the government to ensure balance between demand and supply and prevent market manipulators, while USC has badly failed in undertaking such obligations."
He says the government should extend subsidy to utility bills, if it really wants to pass on relief to the poor instead announcing the so-called Ramazan packages.
Mr Khan alleges that economic policies revolve round certain groups of industrialists who create artificial sugar and flour prices.
The government, he says, did not want to build a smooth supply chain and this could be ascertained from the fact that during sugar crises, the government allowed only the manufacturers to import sugars.
"If the government really wanted to lower sugar prices, why it didn't allow other importers to acquire comparatively low-priced sugar from India," Mr Khan questions.
Widening demand and supply gap, apart from destabilising the commodity markets has also proved to be a major concern for the managers of USC, who equally complain about less than required supply of various running items particularly ghee and edible oils.
Mr Binori, Regional Manager of USC, concedes that nowadays meager supply of ghee and oil is hindering their overall operations mainly because its prices in open market are higher than those available at the utility stores.
According to him, per kg price of ghee in open market is Rs91, whereas it is being sold at Rs67 at utility stores that naturally attract consumers. He says that gap in demand and supply disrupts the USC store operations..
The consumers in the NWFP are the worst victims because of its geographical location.
Traders say that most of the edible commodities, particularly pulses and flour being exported to Afghanistan, are lifted from the NWFP food grain markets, which itself depended on markets of other provinces mainly of Punjab and Sindh.
They believe the flow of food items to Afghanistan from NWFP during last couple of years had widened the demand and supply gap that caused prices spiral upward at local level.
Official data shows that in FY 2005-06, the overall volume of country's exports to Afghanistan was $1063.463 million, out of which the value of edibles was $ 397.393 million. In year 2004-05 the volume of commodity export was $ 291.699 million.
A food grain dealer in Peshawar deplores that neither any department has a clear policy nor there is any authentic data available about needs and expected production of a commodity in the country, which is the main contributing factor for ongoing surge in prices.
Citing example of flour prices, he says, it has witnessed significant increase during last couple of months because of hoarding and low supply to the market, but at the same time its export to Afghanistan is going on in full swing.
Although, the government has banned export of flour via sea, there is no bar on export to Afghanistan via land route.
Grain traders believe that checking prices in retail markets cannot work. The real problem is creating balance in demand and supply not the prices.
Masood Khan, who deals in sugar and ghee, says the mill owners and their commission agents are the main actors, who determine the prices of edible commodities, like rice and pulses.
According to him, NWFP and Balochistan are not self-sufficient in food, thus they have to depend on the manipulated prices.
Mr Mubarik holds the government responsible for the situation, saying its agriculture policy is focused on a single crop—cotton-- as no proper attention is given to the production of grains and livestock produces.