KARACHI, Oct 6: Except for a slight relief in onion prices, the post-Ramazan situation has become more difficult for the people with fresh increases in wheat flour, sugar, beef, mutton and milk powder prices.

A random survey of market revealed an increase in price of Atta no.2.5 to Rs35 per kg which was selling at Rs30 per kg in Ramazan.

The price of Chakki Atta is hovering between Rs34 and Rs36 per kg depending on the locality while it was available at Rs32 per kg during and before Ramazan.

The main reason behind the surge in the price of Atta no.2.5 is the increase in its price by flour mills. On Monday the price of 80kg bag of Atta no.2.5 rose to Rs2,525-2,550 from Saturday’s Rs2,450. During the holy month it was selling at Rs2,250.

The 100kg wheat bag rate has also surged to Rs2,815-2,825 after the increase in its support prices by the government which was announced after Eid. During Ramazan the wheat bag was selling at Rs2,500 while before the holy month it was available at Rs2,400.

The price of 10kg bag of Ashrafi Atta has hit the peak of Rs330 while it was available at Rs300-310 during Ramazan. The bag is in short supply in the markets and its mill rate is Rs310 now.

In Sugar, the retail price climbed to Rs38 per kg from Rs36 per kg on Saturday. Its wholesale rate rose to Rs37 per kg on Monday while during the last days of Ramazan it was selling at Rs34 per kg.

The makers of Nido Milk gave a jolt to consumers by pushing up the price of one kilogram pouch to Rs360 from Rs330 on October 1. The 400-gram, 64-gram and 26-gram pack of powdered milk are now available at Rs170, Rs25 and Rs12 as compared to earlier’s Rs160, Rs23 and Rs10, respectively. The price of Nido Plus 400-gram pack for children has climbed to Rs200 from Rs180.

The meat sellers have gone on the rampage since the last days of Ramazan and are charging Rs190-200 per kg for beef (with bones) as compared to Rs170 per kg during the early days of the holy month. While majority of the meat merchants have refused to sell meat (without bones), there are many in the markets who charge Rs230-240 as compared to Rs220 per kg for it.

Many mutton merchants in upscale areas have been seen demanding Rs310-330 per kg while in Ramazan they were selling it at Rs300 per kg.

However, onion rate has fallen from Rs30-35 per kg of Ramazan rate to Rs20-25 per kg depending on its quality; however, there has been no change in the prices of potatoes, tomatoes, ginger and garlic.

A dealer in Subzi Mandi said that the wholesale rate of onions had dropped to Rs14-15 per kg on Monday from Rs28-30 per kg.

He said traders had also imported 25,000-30,000 tons of Indian onion in Ramazan.

Fresh milk sellers continued to enjoy a free-hand by selling milk at Rs40-42 per litre depending on the areas against its official rate of Rs37 per litre. Yogurt is selling at Rs60 per kg.

The city government’s campaign of price control during the holy month sent 220 people to jail for overcharging while some 6,674 people were fined Rs8.2 million. Fruit vendors remained on the top of the list followed by milk, vegetables, meat sellers and kiryana items sellers who were awarded penalties.

The official in charge of the price checking campaign of the city government, Matant Ali Khan, said that the campaign would continue for the whole year.

The campaign was suspended temporarily after Ramazan as many magistrates had gone to the upcountry areas over the Eid holidays, he said.

The chairman of Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association, Anis Majeed, said that the increase in the wheat bag price was a psychological effect of the increase in wheat support price; however, he maintained that the main reason of the rise was the shortage of wheat in Sindh.

A flour miller said that there was a demand and supply gap as mills were getting 246 bags of wheat per day per mill against the demand of around 1,000 bags.

In rice, some retailers are offering a price cut of Rs10-15 per kg on the new crop varieties but the old varieties are still selling at higher rates as retailers said that they had purchased it at higher rates and would wait till the end of the old stock.

CM orders crackdown on hoarders, smugglers

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has ordered a crackdown on hoarders, profiteers and smugglers of wheat, flour, sugar and fertilisers and directed the law-enforcement agencies to curb the menace of smuggling by strict checking and cordoning all its routes. The chief minister, who took a serious notice of an increase in prices of flour in the province particularly in Karachi, has stressed the need of constant vigilance and watch on illegal movement, hoarding and smuggling of wheat.

Mr Shah, who was presiding over a meeting held here on Monday to control prices of essential commodities, said that hoarders and mill owners had joined hands and were engaged in illegal profiteering, hoarding and smuggling of wheat, flour, and fertiliser and a strategy should be evolved to catch them.

He also ordered an increase in the supply of wheat to genuine flour mills with a condition that they must bring Atta in the open market.

The chief minister also asked for monitoring the supply and demand of wheat and flour at various flour mills and for checking the performance of so-called fair price shops established by flour mills. He said the availability of Naan/Roti should be ensured at reasonable rates.

Sindh Agriculture Minister Syed Ali Nawaz Shah, Food Minister Mir Nadir Ali Magsi, Chief Secretary Fazal-ur-Rehman, Secretary Agriculture Sabhago Khan Jatoi, Secretary Food Aijaz Ali Khan, Principal Secretary to CM Sohail Akbar Shah, DCO of Karachi Javed Hanif Khan and CCPO Waseemuddin Khan were present in the meeting.