KARACHI, Sept 2: Traders had a field day on the first of Ramazan on Tuesday as they overcharged customers and ignored the price-list notified by the government.
A random market survey revealed that the fruit-sellers were demanding Rs50-60 per kg for golden apple (No 1 quality) as against its official rate of Rs36. Gaja (apple), whose official rate is Rs30, was being sold at Rs40-50.
Guava, which is short in market and is also of poor quality, was being sold at Rs100-120 per kg as compared to its official rate of Rs86. Melon was being sold at Rs40 as against Rs26 per kg.
Grapes (Sundar Khani) were being sold at Rs150-200 per kg as against its official rate of Rs110 per kg while round grape price is tagged at Rs80-100 per kg as against its official rate of Rs66. Iranian grapes were being sold at Rs120 as against their official price of Rs100 per kg.
The official rate of the best quality banana is Rs45 per dozen, but retailers were demanding Rs50 to 60 from consumers.
Peach is selling between Rs50 and 60 per kg as compared to its control rate of Rs45 per kg, and cheeko was being sold at Rs70-80 per kg as against Rs66.
Fruit-seller Mohammad Siddiq on Tariq Road said that there was a wide gap in prices of fruits in the wholesale and the official rates. The city government officials, he said, had fixed rates without considering the wholesale market rates.
“The government officials are checking our wrongdoings, but they themselves have fixed unjustified rates,” he said.
Another vendor said that grapes are selling at Rs130 per kg in wholesale market and Sundar Khani grapes are available at Rs160, so how can one sell them below the wholesale rate.
As people are not well-informed about the quality of fruit, vendors are fully exploiting the situation of their surging demand, and they are selling substandard quality at higher rates.
A majority of the retailers were not in the possession of official price lists and they complained that the government had released those lists in a limited number.
Besides, the vendors were not allowed use a photocopy of the original list. The original list is available at Rs5.
In vegetables, the government has fixed the rate of onion (best quality) at Rs30 and No 2 quality at Rs22 per kg but vendors are charging Rs35-40 per kg for best quality and Rs25-30 per kg for No 2 quality. Similarly, vendors are charging Rs5-10 per kg more than the actual list on other vegetables.
In other items, a majority of the shopkeepers do not have the official price lists as the city government issued the price list in a few newspapers. The city government had printed only 2,000 lists which are insufficient for a large number of retailers in the city.
As most of the buyers remained ignorant about the price lists in newspapers, retailers fully cashed in on the situation.
Moreover, there is no mention of rates of some major items in the official list, like ghee, cooking oil, sugar, flour varieties, branded tea, etc.
This year rate of baisin (No 1 quality) has been fixed at Rs67 per kg while it was available at Rs42 per kg last year. The gram pulse (VIP quality, No 1 and No 2) is available at Rs65, 63 and 59 per kg as compared to Rs44, 42 and 38 per kg, respectively, last year. Kabuli chana (No 1 and No 2 quality) prices have been fixed at Rs71 and Rs58 per kg as compared to Rs56 and Rs42 per kg. Black gram price has been fixed at Rs57 and Rs51 per kg as against last year’s price of Rs37 and Rs34 per kg.
The price of masoor pulse (No 1 and No 2) has been fixed at Rs103 and Rs93 per kg, respectively, as compared to Rs54 and Rs50 per kg.
Masur whole (quality No 1 and 2) rate has been fixed at Rs113 and Rs93 per kg, respectively, as compared to Rs45 and Rs44 per kg.
Dal mash washed (No 1 and No 2) is priced at Rs65 and Rs59 per kg as compared to Rs62 and Rs58 per kg. Dal mash (split and whole) is being sold at Rs59 as compared to Rs52 per kg last year.
Arhar (No 1 and 2) prices have been fixed at Rs79 and Rs73 per kg, respectively, as against their last year’s price of Rs58 and Rs56 per kg.
The rate of rice kernel basmati (special) (No 1 and No 2) has been fixed at Rs113 and Rs83 per kg as against Rs60 and Rs58 per kg.
Basmati (No 1) price has been raised to Rs73 per kg as compared to Rs48 per kg while Basmati (saila) rate has surged to Rs83 per kg as compared to Rs58 per kg. The rate of Samosa (made of desi ghee) is Rs120 per dozen this year while it was available at Rs78 last year.
The price of Pheni (desi ghee) has been fixed at Rs280 as compared to Rs200 last year. The same item made of banaspati ghee was available at Rs120 last year as compared to Rs160 this year.
Milk continues to sell at Rs40-44 per litre despite the fact that the government recently fixed its rate at Rs37 per litre for Ramazan. Sugar is selling at Rs33 per kg.
As tea, ghee and cooking oil producers have already pushed up rates, even then if they come out with some package, it would be mere an eye-wash, said a citizen.
Traders said that the devaluation of the rupee against the dollar in the last few months and rising transportation costs owing to frequent increases in fuel prices should be blamed for an inflationary trend in food items prices, besides a demand and supply gap in local crops.
The price of beef has been fixed at Rs170 per kg, and there is at present no change in its price.
Government’s view
The city government’s official in charge of the price checking campaign, Matanat Ali Khan, said that the CDGK staff caught over 50 persons on Tuesday for overcharging, and most of them are fruit and vegetable vendors and milk sellers.
He said that the fruit vendors are making about 200 per cent profit on various items when compared with actual government price.
Mr Khan said when he, along with the DCO, EDO enterprise and investment promotion and police, visited the Old Sabzimandi, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Federal B Area, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, a majority of the push-carts carrying fruit disappeared. However, the city government team visited the same venue thrice to ensure a price cut. He said that the fruit vendors had deliberately kept the price lists in their pockets, and blamed the city government that it had not issued the lists on Tuesday. After various raids in these areas, these vendors showed the price lists.
“If they can sell fruit at the control rate in the presence of police and the city government officials, how can they claim that the rate of fruit procurement does not match with the wholesale rate in the Sabzimandi?” he wondered, adding that they have a bad habit of making huge profits instead of justified Rs4 to 5 per kg profit.
He said that now 36 first class magistrates and 14 second class magistrates are involved in price checking campaign in 18 towns of the city.
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