Fruit prices soar in twin cities

Rawalpindi: The prices of fruit have recorded unprecedented hike at the start of the month of Ramadan with government officials carrying out raids and imposing fines on sellers who are not following official rate lists.

According to the details, the price of one kilogramme (kg) of apple has now reached up to Rs550 while guava which was being sold at Rs160 per kg before Ramazan is now available at Rs320. The banana is being sold at Rs360 per dozen in violation of the rate lists issued on daily basis by the local administration. A large majority of customers who visited fruit shops stated that they were not able to afford fruits, one of the basic food items that people often needed during 'Sehar' and 'Iftar'.

Azhar Rasheed, a customer at Khayaban-e-Sir Syed Market, said “Now I have realized that if I want to include fruit chaat at Iftar for my family members then I have to spend Rs1,000, which means I cannot simply afford this luxury for them.” “The rate of apple starts from Rs420 and it goes up to Rs550 per kg. The prices of bananas and other fruit have also increased to an alarming level. Now the common man cannot even think about purchasing fruit for the family members,” he said. The prices of fruit are fixed on a daily basis but many sellers never follow the rate lists, as they too have been burdened by increasing costs of transportation and soaring inflation. An official of the local administration said “We issue a rate list of fruit items in the morning and our teams visit the local bazaars and markets to monitor their prices. We impose fines on those fruit sellers who try to earn undue profit.”