The price levels of almost all the necessary food items have gone higher. The current year has seen the higher prices of all essential commodities. Now we are experiencing the highest record of food inflation in the city’s history.
“Consumers like me, belonging to middle income group, face a great deal of constraints trying to adjust to the cost of living especially in terms of managing daily menu. Because of frequent food price hikes, we are forced to ignore our need for a balanced diet and consume as less as we can to adjust our expenses,” says Salma.
“Having three kids I am at my wit’s end trying to cope with the rise in food prices. The only way I can keep my expenses within my means is by cutting down on the number of items. For a middle class housewife like me, the struggle for survival has become difficult. This year, buying food for my family has been an even greater challenge,” says Anika.
“At regular intervals the prices of certain commodities such as vegetables, fruits, sugar, lentil, rice, wheat and cooking oil witness a sharp rise in the market. Things are not any easier throughout the year. I feel frustrated and helpless every time I go to a kitchen market or a grocery shop: food is becoming just too expensive,” says Farhat.
“Many reasons are given by retailers, wholesalers and politicians to justify the rise in food prices. Whether it is the general price hike in the international market, high production cost, or even the wrath of monsoon damaging grains and vegetables, the inevitable outcome is the sky rocketing prices of food,” says Batool.
Farah, an English medium schoolteacher, says: “I have almost cut out many food items from the daily diet altogether, due to the inordinate rise in their prices. Rates of daily essentials made me crazy while I was shopping at the kitchen market in my neighborhood. Although I draw quite a decent salary I cannot afford to buy them at a high price as I have to pay my bills and other utility charges. As a result I have given up on most food items.” “Isn’t it the wise thing to do in this situation,” she adds
“The right to food of people can be preserved by making their prices stable in the market. In a country where people spend around seventy per cent of their earnings buying food only and the government plays an inactive role to ensure food at affordable prices for all, people like Salma, Anika or Farhat find the idea of ‘eating less’ as the only viable solution to tackle the raging food prices.