Price hike cut-down sale of ‘iftar’ items

Sales of iftar items in the Rawalpindi city have come down this year because of abnormal rise in the prices of almost all the iftar items. The prices of iftar items shot up by 20 to 30 percent this year, reducing the consumption while food sellers say the rise in the prices of ingredients had forced them to hike the prices of the iftar items.

“Food enthusiasts from different city parts thronged famous iftar spots, including Raja Bazaar, Kashmiri Bazaar and Commercial Market Satellite Town etc. to buy traditional iftar items which are rare in other parts of the city, but many of them were found disappointed with the high prices,” says Munawwar Taqi.

“This year iftar items are pricier than the previous year. That’s why the number of buyers in the iftar markets are thinner this year,” says Hamid Hasan, a vendor at Committee Chowk.

“Most of the businesses have shrunk following the anti-corruption crackdown. This is one of the major causes behind the increasing prices of iftar items as prices of their ingredients rose many times this year,” says Talat Abbas.

“We used to come to Banni iftar market every year to have some traditional iftar items of the old city. But, it now seems very hard to afford the costs,” says Rizwan Haider.

“The price of jilabi, a favorite part of my iftar, has risen per kilogram at all shops. A kilogram of jilabi now sells at a much high price,” says Mureed Raza.

“The roadside iftar markets have seen less number of buyers this year apparently because of price hike of food products. The ordinary date, which we bought at economical rate per kilogram last year is now being sold at an extraordinarily high rate,” says Manzar Naqvi.

The owner of Iftar shop on College Road, Intezar Hussain, says, “The sale of iftar in his shop dropped by 25 to 30 percent this year because of the abnormal price hike of ingredients. Every year, I usually arranged around 150 items of iftar for sale but this time I have arranged only 60 items of iftar considering the buying capacity of the commoners.”

Shujaat Ali, owner of a Bakery on Saidpur Road, and president of the Confectionery Manufacturers’ Association says, “Soaring prices of cooking oils, meat, pulses, flour and other ingredients have compelled us to increase the prices of the ready iftar items.”

‘I bought a plate of Halim at a much lower rate last year. This year, the price has increased many times more,” says Khadim Hussain standing at Bao Ji Restaurant.

An employee of the restaurant says, “We were compelled to increase the prices of iftar items as the price of mutton has increased per kilogram and all sorts of pulses have become dearer.”