Essential items' prices rise further

The prices of daily use items especially milk, pulses and ghee/cooking oil rose yet again during past week, according to a survey conducted by Business Recorder. Traders increased the prices of important pulses especially moong and gram by Rs 20 and Rs 10 per kg. Traders allege that Nestle, manufacturer of Milkpack, Nido and other milk-related products, was responsible for creating artificial shortage.
The commodity is currently selling at the following rates: 1/4 litre pack of milk which previously was available at Rs 18 is being sold at Rs 20; 1/2 litre pack of milk, sold at Rs 33, is currently available at Rs 36; and 1 litre pack is being sold at Rs 72 against its previous price of Rs 65. According to the survey, the price per kg beef has increased to Rs 210 from Rs 190, mutton to Rs 425 from Rs 380 per kg.
The survey says that the price of gram flour (basin) increased from Rs 65 to 75 per kg. Before Ramazam, kg of sugar was available at Rs 60 but it is now being sold at Rs 70 to Rs 80. The price of different brands of good quality ghee rose to Rs 735 from 680/5 kg, whereas 5kg tin of average quality ghee is available at Rs 650 against Rs 600.
One kg tomato is being sold at Rs 100, whereas the same quantity was available at Rs 40 to 50 before Ramazam. The price of onions has risen to Rs 50 from 25/kg. The price of mango has risen to Rs 70 from Rs 50/kg. People told Business Recorder that the government was totally non-serious in providing any sort of relief to the inflation-hit people.
They said that although the government can not check the prices of each and every item, still the government machinery could and should keep an eye on hoarders. According to Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS), the sensitive price index (SPI) soared by 16.21 percent on week ended August 19 over the previous week led by a considerable increase in the price of pulses and other daily use commodities.
Sensitive Price Indicators (SPI), released by the FBS, showed an increase of Rs 7 per kg in the price of moong pulse washed and an increase of Rs 3 per kg in the price of gram pulse washed during the week. The price of mash pulse washed went up by Rs 2 per kg and masoor pulse washed by Rs 1.25 per kg.