KARACHI, Nov 3: Emergency or no emergency, a fresh tsunami of price bout of essential kitchen items is brewing up in the market which may hit consumers any time next week.
“Emergency may perhaps help to put a safety valve on the fury of this tsunami,” Raees Ashraf Tarmohammad, leader of Pakistan Grocery Importers Association, remarked in response to a question asked by Dawn as to how he foresees the availability of essential kitchen items after promulgation of the emergency.
Raees said the price increase for edible oil, vegetable ghee, rice, pulses, wheat flour and a variety of other items was already on the cards for a number of reasons. First and foremost, he said it was the international trend of price rise of edible oil, pulses and other items.
“Palm oil was quoted at $500 a ton early 2006,” he recalled and said that now it was over $1,500 a ton in Malaysia and there seemed to be no respite in its price increase.
Emergency promulgation, he said should bring some confidence among the businessmen and in the market. The unscrupulous elements may not be able to take as much advantage of international price increase and supply scarcity because of emergency laws, he opined.
Market sources say that there is plenty of wheat in the market but availability is being regulated by handful businessmen who control the market. There is faint hope that under emergency these handful hoarders will at least maintain the present price level — Rs1,550 for 100-kg wheat bag and wheat flour at Rs20 to Rs21 a kg for the consumer.
Consumers had experienced the costliest Ramazan and are new gearing up to face a new wave of price rise that may reduce their earnings to nothing.
What makes Raees and a few other businessmen believe that emergency may be able to put some barriers in wild price spiral is their experience and observations in the past when the martial law authorities in 1958 and later in 1969 and again in 1977 took some cosmetic steps to bring out essential goods from the stocks of the hoarders.
But an overwhelming majority of businessmen are confused and found guessing as to what would be the outcome of emergency promulgation.
“The stock exchange may go up and go down, it does not matter that much as supply of essential goods and stability of jobs,” a business leader said. He fears that if a recession sets in many companies may be forced to curtail their workforce.
A large majority of business leaders prefer to remain noncommittal and indicated to give their assessment on Sunday or Monday when situation will be relatively clear. But there is no doubt that then a fresh bout of price rise of essential goods is about to set in the market.