The cooking-oil/ghee manufacturers have increased the price of good quality product like Dalda, Sufi and Habib by Rs 20 per kg and normal quality by Rs 10 per kg within short span of five days, wholesale market traders revealed. Traders at Gunj Mandi Rawalpindi told Business Recorder that one month earlier 5 kg tin of better quality cooking oil was being sold at Rs 810 and 2.5 kg at Rs 420, which are at present being sold at Rs 860 and Rs 440 respectively.
The wholesale community was of the view that suppliers of cooking-oil have increased the price of normal quality cooking-oil by Rs 10 to 15 per kg, which was previously being sold at Rs 150 per kg and now available at Rs 160 to Rs 165per kg.
The price of good quality brands like Habib, Dalda, Sufi and Talu has been jacked by Rs 20 per kg, which previously was being sold at Rs 160 per kg and at present it is available at Rs 180 per kg, they added. Retailers said that though the rates have been raised on the plea that palm-oil prices have gone up in the global market, but most of the manufacturers were having around two months stocks in their godowns hence their plea has no weight.
The average quality ghee and cooking oil like Fauji and Shan brands on Saturday (December 25) were Rs 150 per kg, while the high standard ghee and cooking oil like Dalda and Habib were being sold at Rs 172-168 per kg, but due to recent price increase the rates have touched Rs 160 and Rs 180 per kg, they said adding , if corrective measures were not taken the price would touch Rs 200 per kg. Traders said that prices of most of the kitchen items ie cooking-oil, spices, milk and tea witnessed increase in the prices, which for the last five months are continuously going up.
Consumers were of the view that the increase would squeeze further purchasing power of the masses while inflation and unemployment have already reached its peak in the country. However, onions prices went down in markets due to arrival of the new crop from Sindh as it is being sold at Rs 50 per kg in the retail market, which a few days ago was being sold at Rs 70 per kg. Traders said that price of the commodity has seen decline during the last few days, and onion arrival from Sindh is the main cause of decline in onion price.