RAWALPINDI:
Measures taken to control prices have proven ineffective as beef, lamb, chicken, fruits and vegetables are sold at arbitrary prices on the open market. Except for potatoes, almost everything has become more expensive and inflation peaked on the 19th of Ramadan.
A sharp rise in oil prices expected around Eidul Fitr is likely to trigger another wave of inflation.
Seven days of the second Ashra of Ramadan have been completed, but all measures taken so far to control inflation in the open market have failed.
Currently, bone-in beef is sold at Rs 1,400 per kg, while boneless beef is priced at Rs 1,600 per kg. Mutton is sold at Rs 2,600 per kg and chicken meat at Rs 600 per kg.
A dozen clean goat trotters sell for Rs 2,600, while four clean cow trotters are priced at Rs 4,200.
Butchers and poultry sellers have set their own prices and further increases are expected before Eid.
The situation is similar in the fruit market, where apples are sold at Rs 550 per kg, bananas at Rs 280 per dozen, guavas at Rs 250 per kg and kinnow at Rs 350 per dozen.
Among vegetables, potatoes are sold at Rs 120 per five kilograms, making them the only relatively cheap vegetable left amid the wave of inflation. Prices of all other vegetables have increased during Ramadan.
Citizens say the abnormal rise in food prices in the open market must be controlled so that people can complete the remaining 11 fasts without having to face the burden of inflation.
On the other hand, sellers of meat, poultry, vegetables and fruits say they can only sell products after adding their expenses and profits to the purchase price.
Meanwhile, the expected sharp rise in oil prices from the 19th of Ramadan is likely to further intensify the wave of inflation.
It may be noted that the Punjab government had taken strict measures to control prices this year, but despite these efforts the rise in inflation could not be contained.
