LAHORE:
Heavy rains and floods through Punjab have interrupted the movement of food supplies to Lahore, leaving wholesale markets below perishable key items and causing increases in strong prices in poultry, vegetables and fruits.
Consumers reported that shortage has not only reduced the availability of fresh products, but also has pushed quality down, with many damaged items or in small quantities. The absence of monitoring and application of the active government has allowed retailers to charge well above official prices, deepening frustration among buyers already face the growing costs of life.
The merchants of the main wholesale markets said that vegetable and fruits trucks could not reach Lahore due to road closures and damaged routes of the areas affected by floods. The reduced entry has meant less options for wholesalers and retailers, who transmitted cost increases to end consumers.
Read more: Record floods displace millions in punjab
Corral birds were among the most affected categories. The living chicken, with an official price between RS 397 and RS 411 per kilogram, was sold to customers at RS 500 to RS 530. The chicken meat, which had a fixed rate of RS 595 per kilogram, obtained between 650 and 750 rs 750 in retail stores, while the chicken without holes was sold by as high as high as RS 1,200 against the noble 1,100.
The vegetables also saw generalized increases. Potatoes with soft skin increased by RS 5 to RS 85 to RS 90 per kilogram in the official list, but they were sold at RS 150. RS 110 to RS 120, but they were sold almost double, which varied from RS 180 to RS 200. The garlic, list in RS 205 to RS 215 per kilogram A RS 282 to RS 295, but are sold for RS 400. in the markets.
Other common vegetables, including bitter pumpkin, binjal, zucchini, lufffa, capsicum, cauliflower, pumpkin and Ladyfinger, also recorded price jumps from RS 20 to RS 40 per kilogram above the official notifications. Only spinach and Chinese carrots showed slight reductions, but even these were sold at higher prices than fixed.
Fruit markets also reflected a similar imbalance. Apples, bananas, guayapas, peaches and plums remained unchanged in the government list, but retailers demanded substantially higher rates. The mangoes of different varieties increased by RS 50 per kilogram, set at RS 210 to RS 310, but were sold between RS 200 and RS 450. The grapes of the sundarkhani variety won RS 10, with official rates established in RS 440 to RS 460, but were sold in RS 500 to RS 600. DATs, with a officially collection price with a level of collection. RS 470 and RS 500, RS 900, RS 900 rs. and RS 2,000, depending on quality. The caquis, set at RS 168 to RS 175 per kilogram, sold in almost double, from RS 300 to RS 350.
Read too: Trillizos in Gujranwala die at birth while floods block access to the hospital
The city buyers expressed angry at livestock without control. Many said the authorities had not ensured compliance with the price lists shown in the markets. “Price control teams are not seen anywhere,” said a consumer, Ali Ahmad, in Shadman Market. “Each supplier is charging what he wants, and there is no one to stop them.”
Market observers indicated that the convergence of natural interruption and weak application have left consumers vulnerable to exploitation. With the waters of floods that still hinder transport routes and more rain forecasts, merchants expect the interruptions of the supply chain to persist in the coming weeks.
Economists warn that the prolonged shortage of fresh products could increase the broader inflationary pressures that already weigh largely in urban homes.
