Recent wave of price hike have badly affected the middle class people. Prices of vegetables and fruits have registered increase from 35 to 70 percent before the advent of Ramazan, writes UZMA ALEEM
“We are trying to hire a rickshaw to go back home after spending half of my father’s salary for a handful of vegetables and fruits. The month of Ramzan would start after 8 or 9 days but the prices of commodities are already skyrocketing badly affecting common people like us. Oh, this shopping (while pointing towards her shopping bags) just frustrates me. Few years back the situation was far better. I don’t know what the government is doing? Why don’t they control the situation?” blurted Sidra when asked to comment on the situation while she was shopping at the sabzimandi of Singhpura, Lahore.
Sidra is not the only person expressing her despair over the price hike. Sunday Plus conducted a survey to assess the volume of price hike before Ramazan.
Though rising prices is not a new phenomenon, yet the common people tend to compare the current prices with those of the last few years. Prices have substantially increased since 1995, and have shown an upward trend, especially after the budget and hikes in administered prices. It is now very difficult for people to make both ends meet. We all feel that something should be done to control the prices.
There is a lot of anger, resentment, and discontentment over the rising prices, and most people seem to think that the government has been very ineffective in checking the prices. However, the controlling price rise is not an easy task, it require special product, by product and industry, by industry analysis. The price issue involves everybody at present. Though the government claims of doing whatever it can yet the price hike is still panicking the masses.
Prices of most food items have registered an increase in July 2010 in most parts of the country, warranting a prompt government action to enforce price control mechanisms or ensuring steady supplies of items that are most used during the holy month of Ramazan set to begin in mid-August.
According to FAFEN’s Retail Price Monitor, prices of fresh food items like tomatoes, potatoes, garlic and mangoes increased in July 2010 as compared to the preceding month in most parts of the country.
The prices of the two most commonly used vegetables - tomatoes and potatoes - registered high increases of 35 percent and 11 percent, respectively. Garlic price went up by 9 percent in July as compared to June 2010. Potato and garlic prices continued an upward trend for the second consecutive month. Mango prices, which were quite low in June, went up by 6 percent in July. Sugar prices also increased by 7 percent, perhaps as information of inadequate stocks of this commodity started reaching the market, with fears of yet another sugar crisis.
During the month of July 2010, FAFEN Governance Monitors collected prices of 69 commodities and services at retail outlets in 129 National Assembly constituencies in 82 districts in the four provinces, Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
According to FAFEN’s Retail Price Monitor— part of FAFEN’s nationwide initiative to monitor governance processes under its Democratic Governance Program—meat prices also increased in July as compared to June, with beef increasing by 5 percent, chicken by 3 percent and mutton by 2 percent, indicating that prices of meats may further increase during Ramadan. Fresh milk and yogurt prices also registered an increase of 2 percent each. Basmati rice price was up slightly in July (1 percent as compared to June prices), while the price of Rice Irri was up by 3 percent nationally. The prices of mash, lobia, gram and moong pulses were up by 4 percent, 3 percent, 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Firewood prices registered an increase of 8 percent in the reporting month as compared to the preceding one.
While 35 consumer commodities and services registered increases in price, 28 consumer items were available at relatively cheaper prices in July as compared to June. In general-use consumer items, the price of washing powder and toothpaste decreased by 19 percent and 6 percent, respectively, in July as compared with June. Apples were available at 13 percent lower prices. Dry dates and bananas were also relatively cheaper in July as compared to June 2010 (7 percent and 4 percent decrease in price, respectively).
There was a wide regional variance in terms of changes in the prices of some essential commodities. For instance, the price of tomatoes, the food item with the most fluctuating price, registered an increase of 62 percent in Punjab and 61 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as compared to just 8 percent in Sindh. In contrast, the price of the same commodity decreased by 14 percent in the province of Balochistan, which enjoyed the harvesting season of this commodity in reporting month. There was a nominal increase of 1 percent in the price of Basmati rice nationwide, but it increased by 28 percent in FATA.
These statistics of FAFEN also reflected that price hike has affected the buying pattern of a common man as it has reduced to the necessities while making modern living essentials a luxury for him. Socio-economic middle class of Pakistan is worst affected by the price hike. The industry and the trade are responsible to a good extent for not playing fair with the public. The government, businessmen and the public should collectively tackle the problem, back in theory and practice.
“We are trying to hire a rickshaw to go back home after spending half of my father’s salary for a handful of vegetables and fruits. The month of Ramzan would start after 8 or 9 days but the prices of commodities are already skyrocketing badly affecting common people like us. Oh, this shopping (while pointing towards her shopping bags) just frustrates me. Few years back the situation was far better. I don’t know what the government is doing? Why don’t they control the situation?” blurted Sidra when asked to comment on the situation while she was shopping at the sabzimandi of Singhpura, Lahore.
Sidra is not the only person expressing her despair over the price hike. Sunday Plus conducted a survey to assess the volume of price hike before Ramazan.
Though rising prices is not a new phenomenon, yet the common people tend to compare the current prices with those of the last few years. Prices have substantially increased since 1995, and have shown an upward trend, especially after the budget and hikes in administered prices. It is now very difficult for people to make both ends meet. We all feel that something should be done to control the prices.
There is a lot of anger, resentment, and discontentment over the rising prices, and most people seem to think that the government has been very ineffective in checking the prices. However, the controlling price rise is not an easy task, it require special product, by product and industry, by industry analysis. The price issue involves everybody at present. Though the government claims of doing whatever it can yet the price hike is still panicking the masses.
Prices of most food items have registered an increase in July 2010 in most parts of the country, warranting a prompt government action to enforce price control mechanisms or ensuring steady supplies of items that are most used during the holy month of Ramazan set to begin in mid-August.
According to FAFEN’s Retail Price Monitor, prices of fresh food items like tomatoes, potatoes, garlic and mangoes increased in July 2010 as compared to the preceding month in most parts of the country.
The prices of the two most commonly used vegetables - tomatoes and potatoes - registered high increases of 35 percent and 11 percent, respectively. Garlic price went up by 9 percent in July as compared to June 2010. Potato and garlic prices continued an upward trend for the second consecutive month. Mango prices, which were quite low in June, went up by 6 percent in July. Sugar prices also increased by 7 percent, perhaps as information of inadequate stocks of this commodity started reaching the market, with fears of yet another sugar crisis.
During the month of July 2010, FAFEN Governance Monitors collected prices of 69 commodities and services at retail outlets in 129 National Assembly constituencies in 82 districts in the four provinces, Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
According to FAFEN’s Retail Price Monitor— part of FAFEN’s nationwide initiative to monitor governance processes under its Democratic Governance Program—meat prices also increased in July as compared to June, with beef increasing by 5 percent, chicken by 3 percent and mutton by 2 percent, indicating that prices of meats may further increase during Ramadan. Fresh milk and yogurt prices also registered an increase of 2 percent each. Basmati rice price was up slightly in July (1 percent as compared to June prices), while the price of Rice Irri was up by 3 percent nationally. The prices of mash, lobia, gram and moong pulses were up by 4 percent, 3 percent, 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Firewood prices registered an increase of 8 percent in the reporting month as compared to the preceding one.
While 35 consumer commodities and services registered increases in price, 28 consumer items were available at relatively cheaper prices in July as compared to June. In general-use consumer items, the price of washing powder and toothpaste decreased by 19 percent and 6 percent, respectively, in July as compared with June. Apples were available at 13 percent lower prices. Dry dates and bananas were also relatively cheaper in July as compared to June 2010 (7 percent and 4 percent decrease in price, respectively).
There was a wide regional variance in terms of changes in the prices of some essential commodities. For instance, the price of tomatoes, the food item with the most fluctuating price, registered an increase of 62 percent in Punjab and 61 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as compared to just 8 percent in Sindh. In contrast, the price of the same commodity decreased by 14 percent in the province of Balochistan, which enjoyed the harvesting season of this commodity in reporting month. There was a nominal increase of 1 percent in the price of Basmati rice nationwide, but it increased by 28 percent in FATA.
These statistics of FAFEN also reflected that price hike has affected the buying pattern of a common man as it has reduced to the necessities while making modern living essentials a luxury for him. Socio-economic middle class of Pakistan is worst affected by the price hike. The industry and the trade are responsible to a good extent for not playing fair with the public. The government, businessmen and the public should collectively tackle the problem, back in theory and practice.
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