Traders and wholesalers oppose the idea and warn that it will lead to a further rise in inflation
The administration will establish sasta bazaars and 35 fair price stores in rural and urban areas PHOTO: EXPRESS
The Punjab government has decided to abolish all fruit and vegetable markets, along with commission-based wholesale markets, in a bid to exert complete control over the prices of food products, essential commodities, vegetables, fruits and grocery items.
In their place, the new Chief Minister’s Farmers’ Markets will be established. These will be staffed by government inspectors who will work under the direct supervision of the Deputy Commissioner.
In these markets, every vehicle, trailer and container transporting vegetables, fruits, legumes, sugar and grocery products will be formally registered upon entry. The authorities plan to put the new markets into operation in the second half of December.
Under this decision, four fruit and vegetable markets and six wholesale markets in Rawalpindi Division and across Punjab, a total of 42 fruit and vegetable markets and 70 commission-based wholesale markets will be dismantled.
The new Chief Minister’s Farmers’ Markets will remain under the exclusive control of the government, with offices of the District Administration, the Price Control Magistrate and the District Price Committee, located on site. All receipts of goods, including supply and auctions, will be carried out entirely under government supervision, effectively ending all private control.
However, Vegetable Market Traders Association President Ghulam Qadir Mir, Fruit Market Secretary Sajid Khan and Wholesale Market Traders Vice President Shafiq Khan rejected the proposal. They urged the government to desist from such experiments and instead focus on strong governance, warning that such measures would trigger a rise in inflation.
They argued that if the government really wants to introduce reforms, it should establish parallel markets and allow them to compete with the existing wholesale and fruit and vegetable markets, as improvement naturally follows competition.
They further observed that the government has failed to effectively manage utility shops and the Sasti Roti scheme; How would you manage the wholesale markets then? According to them, the bureaucracy is trying to create a direct conflict between the government and the merchants through such initiatives, a situation they promised to resist.
