Following the District Price Control Committee’s (DPCC) failure to release the official price list after their November 5 meeting with traders, wholesalers in Rawalpindi have announced a 20 to 30% potential price hike starting November 18.
Market expectations indicate increases in the prices of essential grocery items such as pulses, ghee, flour, and white gram from the specified date.
Wholesale market, prices per kilogram are Rs450 for daal channa, Rs700 for daal mash, Rs580 for ghee, and Rs420 for white gram. Notably, the cost of a flour bag has risen by Rs1,200, and a ghee carton by Rs1,600.
The Wholesale Dealers Association has noted that if petroleum product prices rise on November 15, the new pricing will reflect the subsequent transportation costs.
Saleem Parvez Butt, president of the Grocery Merchant Association, expressed frustration that despite demands for updated official prices aligned with market rates during a meeting ten days ago, the Deputy Commissioner has yet to release a new rate list.
Butt cautioned that if official rates do not align with those of wholesalers and the wholesale market, sales of all food and essential items at government rates might cease across Punjab.
