Every year, just before and during the holy month of Ramazan, the prices of pulses, fruits and vegetables increase. Half-hearted administrative measures hardly make a difference.
Preventing price hikes in times of high demand for food items is possible only if the cost of agricultural inputs is stabilised, crop yields are improved, the output gap is narrowed, production data collection is made more scientific, and processing, storage, transportation and marketing of pulses, fruits and veggies are made efficient.
“Hoarding of pulses begins a few weeks before Ramazan. Absence of cold chains also affect supply of some fruits and vegetables making them pricier during Ramazan,” says an official of Karachi city’s administration.
“All we can do is to convince traders not to indulge in profiteering or conduct raids on retailer shops involved in overcharging. Beyond that things get complicated and need to be addressed at policy making level.”
In most of the meetings held before Ramazan for ensuring price stability, the focus of the city officials remained on securing gentlemanly promise from traders to behave.
