The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) signed off on the price list of food items for June 1 – June 14 on Tuesday, exactly a week after it was supposed to print and distribute the list in the market, Pakistan Today has learnt. In principle, the CDGK is supposed to issue a price list every 15 days, one at the beginning of the month and the other on the 16th. The delay in issuance of the price list of grocery items has meant that traders are charging exorbitant sums from their customers, almost always demanding arbitrarily set price for items such as rice, pulses and ghee.
In many markets, the per kilo price of rice has been increased by at least two rupees and as high as five rupees. The price of pulses has increased by at least Rs 2 and as high as Rs 8: an extra Rs 3 are being charged on every kilo of kala chana, Rs 8 on kaabli chana, Rs 10 to 12 on daal masoor. The rates of a 16-kilo container of ghee have been increased by at least Rs30.
Karachi Retailer Grocers Alliance (KRGA) Advisor Farooq Memon told Pakistan Today that the CDGK is paying no heed to the importance of a price list, and thus, traders have arbitrarily increased prices of grocery items. “District Coordination Officer (DCO) Muhammad Hussain Syed has approved the price list for June 1 today (Tuesday), and this will only reach the market by the 9th since it takes time to print and distribute them,” Memon explained, adding that the CDGK usually circulates 22,000 copies in four different colours for the whole city.
“Hyderabad is Pakistan’s major city for producing pulses; around 180-190 production factories are present there but pulses sell at open rates there. But as compared to Karachi, daal masooor in Hyderabad is being sold at Rs 78 per kg, kala chana for Rs 56, kaabli chana for Rs 112 and others at similarly cheaper rates,” he said.
