Rawalpindi: People in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad like other parts of the country are facing immense difficulties as price of 1-kilogram tomatoes ranges between Rs150-200 and onion at Rs60-Rs70 and as per routine, government authorities have failed to get down its prices.
Reportedly, price of tomatoes has touched Rs250 per kg mark in Peshawar and Rs200 in Karachi. Tomato were easily available at Rs30 to Rs35 while onion at Rs25 to Rs30 per kilogram in fruits and vegetables markets. Immediately, within days, prices got out of reach of public but government seems to be insensitive towards the issue.
The vegetable sellers said that the tomato supply has suffered due to its wrong cropping while the prices are likely to fall down in coming week. Vegetable vendors are selling tomatoes at Rs150-Rs200 per kilogram in violation of the prices fixed by the price control committees in twin cities.
The Secretary Price Control Committee Nazar Hussain told ‘The News’ that they were fully trying to get the price of tomato and onion down in Sabzi Mandis. There is a big gap between demand and supply therefore prices of tomato and onion fluctuating continuously. “We are hoping to lower down prices in coming days,” he assured.
According to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the weekly inflation for the week ended on September 21 for the combined income groups increased by 0.61 per cent as compared to the previous week.
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 223.47 points against 222.11 points last week. As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined group in the week under review witnessed increase of 2.16 per cent.
The weekly SPI has been computed with base 2007, 2008=100, covering 17 urban centres and 53 essential items for all income groups. Meanwhile, the SPI for the lowest income group up to Rs8000 increased by 0.70 per cent as it went up from 213.01 points in the previous week to 214.51 points in the week under review.
As compared to the last week the SPI for the income groups from Rs8,001 to 12,000, Rs12,001 to 18,000, Rs18,001 to 35,000 and above Rs35,000 also increased by 0.66 per cent, 0.67 per cent, 0.62 percent and 0.65 per cent respectively.
During the week under review, average prices of 14 items registered decrease, while 09 items increase with the remaining 30 items’ prices unchanged. The items, which registered decrease in their prices during the week under review included onions, bananas, garlic, chicken (farm), LPG Cylinder, tea, vegetable ghee, pulse mash, mustard oil, rice basmati, pulse ‘moong’, pulse ‘masoor’, and red chilly powder (loose).
The items, which registered increase in their prices during the week under review, include tomatoes, potatoes, onion, wheat, wheat flour, pulse gram, ‘gurr’, vegetable ghee, sugar, and beef.
The items with no change in their average prices during the week under review included rice irri-6, bread, mutton, milk (fresh), curd, milk (powdered),cooking oil (tin), salt powder (loose), cooked beef, cooked pulses, tea prepared, cigarettes, long cloth, shirting, lawn, georgette, gents sandal, gents chappal, ladies sandal, electricity charges, gas charges, kerosene oil, firewood, washing soap, match box, petrol, diesel, telephone local call and bath soap.
Talking to ‘The News’ poor belonging to different walks of life have strongly condemned increasing prices of food items like tomato, onion and other vegetables. They said that all government machinery was busy in other works rather to resolve public issues.
