KARACHI: The first day of Ramazan proved to be a terrible experience for consumers, who paid higher prices for fruits and vegetables in the absence of official price lists at most retail outlets. In another development, flour millers are considering suspending the sale of 10kg wheat flour bags at Rs100 each for the morning session on Monday, as they intend to meet city government officials to seek security provisions for sales points.

Most consumers complained that only a few trucks were seen unloading wheat flour bags in some areas, while millers claimed that deliveries were made as per the agreement with the authorities.

The government and flour millers also offered different figures regarding the sale of bags on Sunday. Consumers, meanwhile, complained of a lack of magistrates in markets to check overcharging by retailers.

For grocery items, some retailers had displayed the price list but were not selling items at the prescribed rate on the pretext that the quality of items printed on the list was inferior. For example, they were selling gram flour at Rs60-70 per kg, against the official rate of Rs52 per kg.

Fruit vendors claimed that they were unable to obtain the price list. Consumers paid Rs80 per kg for low quality guavas, Rs40-50 per dozen for bananas, Rs100-120 for peaches, Rs60-80 per kg for apples, Rs40 for melons, Rs120-150 for grapes and Rs150-160 per kg for dates. The overcharging by dealers and retailers has become an annual ritual, as they are aware that the 50 or so officials assigned with checking prices are not able to pay regular visits to all 18 towns in the city. As a result, the price checking campaign has historically fizzled out every year.

Fruit dealers defended their practice of charging higher rates, saying they could not charge the official rates because they themselves were buying commodities at inflated rates from the Sabzi Mandi. Vegetable dealers, some of whom were charging Rs25 per kg for onions, told a similar story.

Grocers have already expressed their displeasure at the official rates, saying they are far below the items’ actual prices.

The meat merchants’ body decided to keep shops closed on Sunday due to a dispute with the city government on lower price fixing, but only a few shopkeepers followed the decision. While the majority of shops remained open, however, most charged the same prices as they were charging before the start of Ramazan.

The CDGK did set up a few complaint centres in the city, but only one staff member was observed at each of these sites.

The vice-chairman of the All Pakistan Flour Mills Association (APFMA), Chaudhry Nasir Abdullah, said that city government officials had assured them ahead of Ramazan that subsidised wheat flour would be sold at special stalls to be set up in various areas. But no stalls were set up and the millers had to sell the flour off trucks.

Due to the lack of security personnel, people turned up in large numbers and started looting the flour bags, he claimed.

In Karachi, 71 mills sold 100,000-125,000 bags on Sunday, but millers said they did not get paid for all of these bags at the correct rate, as there had been 'plundering by angry people'. Mr Abdullah added that in some areas, millers suffered losses of up to 50 per cent.

The situation was the same in the interior of the province as well.

He said that millers may suspend sale of wheat flour bags on trucks in the first session unless the government ensures full security for them.

Former APFMA chairman Ansar Jawed claimed that some 140,000 bags were sold on Sunday. But he said that millers would decide their future course of action after the outcome of a meeting with city government officials on Monday.

The CDGK’s price control in-charge, Matanat Ali Khan, said 62 people had been sent to jail while 382 people had fines amounting to Rs389,900 imposed on them for overcharging. He said most were meat merchants and fruit vendors, as well as some grocery item dealers.

He also claimed that 38 stalls were set up by the CDGK.

On wheat flour, he claimed that 170,000 bags of 10kg were sold at around 284 spots in various areas of the city. On the looting of bags, he said such incidents occurred 'only at Gizri, Pak Colony, Baldia and Ranchore Line', when only 25 bags were left on the trucks and people tried to get to them.

He denied that there were any reports that flour millers had planned to suspend the sale of bags on Monday morning.LINK