Onion price reaches ‘triple century’ as inflation inches up

ISLAMABAD: The price controlling mechanism has failed to rein in the skyrocketing prices of consumer items in the retail market as the price of onion reached Rs320 per kg in federal capital of Pakistan, ARY News reported on Friday.

According to data issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the price of the good quality onion has seen a surge in the domestic markets as retailers blame massive exports for the price spiral.

Onion is being sold at Rs320 per kg at the retail level in Islamabad. Meanwhile, the most sought-after commodity compared to other vegetables was available at Rs310 per kg in Rawalpindi, Rs280 in Peshawar and Rs270 in Sialkot.

Furthermore, the PBS reported, the onion is being sold at Rs240 per kg in Karachi, Lahore and Gujranwala, Rs220 in Faisalabad, Sargodha, Multan and Bahawalpur. However, the vegetable was available at Rs200 per kg in Hyderabad and Bannu.

On the other hand, the PBS reported that the weekly inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 0.34 per cent for the combined consumption groups during the week ended on January 18.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 22 (43.14%) items increased, 08 (15.68%) items decreased and 21 (41.18%) items remained stable.

The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week basis included potatoes (3.85%), petrol (2.99%), sugar (0.90%), tea packet (0.20%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (0.14%), cooking oil 5 litres (0.08%), wheat flour (0.07%) and gur (0.04%).

The items that recorded an increase in their average prices on a week-on-week basis included onions (8.69%), tomatoes (7.51%), energy sever (2.72%), chicken (2.26%), garlic (2.18%), bananas (2.14%), eggs (1.89%), matchbox (1.67%), pulse mash (1.59%) and pulse moong (1.46%).