Ramadan 2024: Pakistan staring at an expensive Ramzan as fruit, vegetable prices surge

livemint.com:

Ramadan starts, ANI reported on Sunday citing an Express Tribune report The report said the people of the neighbouring country are already facing a two to three-fold increase in the prices of essential kitchen items like vegetables, sugar, edible oil, ghee, meat, eggs, and pulses. This substantial increase in prices of essential commodities has added to the economic sufferings of low- to middle-income consumers. Experts see a further hike in commodity prices during the holy month of Ramadan, with a general surge of 31.5% in recent months.

Several food items may witness up to a 60% increase in their rates from their pre-Ramadan levels. In the absence of an effective price monitoring system, the prices of fruit and vegetables have surged multifold. The price of onions has increased from Pakistani currency (PKR) 150 per kg to as much as PKR 300, with some retailers offering a slight relief at PKR 250 per kg, The Express Tribune reported.

Other essential items have seen similar hikes in prices. Potatoes, another hot selling item in Ramadan, now cost PKR 80 per kg up from PKR 50 earlier. Cabbage—which was PKR 80-100 per kg in the pre-Ramadan period—has shot up to PKR 150 per kg, and green chillies are being sold at PKR 320 per kg compared to their earlier price of PKR 200.

Capsicum has doubled in price to PKR 400 per kg. Apart from the vegetables, fruits have also reported a hike in prices as well. Not only the small-sized bananas have jumped from PKR 80 to PKR 120 per dozen but also the high-quality large bananas—which were sold at PKR 120-150 in the pre-Ramadan period—are being sold at PKR 200 per dozen.