Rising prices<\/p>\n
Despite assurances given by various government officials that
\nprices of essentials would remain stable during Ramadhan, this
\nhas not happened in practice.<\/p>\n
Prices of many commodities in the market in the run up to and
\nthe first week of the holy month have registered increases. In
\nmany instances, as in the case of meat, the rise has been
\nunprecedented.<\/p>\n
The prices of most vegetables and fruit have also risen in
\nvarying degrees over the past few weeks despite adequate supplies
\nand with no shortages reported from anywhere. This is a clear
\ncase of profiteering by a section of wholesalers and retailers at
\nthe expense of the hapless consumer while the government looks
\nthe other way. In view of this, one is surprised to read that the
\nEconomic Coordination Council of the cabinet on Friday expressed
\nsatisfaction at the level of prices of essential commodities in
\nthe country during October.<\/p>\n
If the government is not even ready to accept the fact that
\nprices of many essential items have shot up prior to and during
\nRamadhan, to expect it to take action against errant shopkeepers
\nand wholesalers seems to be asking for too much.<\/p>\n
It is time the government took more serious notice of the
\nprevailing situation in markets all over the country and entered
\ninto a dialogue with the representatives of the wholesalers and
\nretailers on reducing prices and keeping them at a reasonable
\nlevel during Ramadhan.<\/p>\n
The government should also initiate raids to check prices as
\nwell as the quality of items being sold so that some relief is
\nprovided to the hard-pressed public. However, it must be said
\nthat it would not be fair to blame only the government for the
\nRamadhan rise in prices.<\/p>\n
The public too must play a part through consumer resistance
\nand not letting the profiteers have their way. In this regard,
\nconsumer awareness on such issues must be raised by such
\norganizations like NGOs, which are otherwise quite vocal on
\nissues of public interests.<\/p>\n
It can be safely said that unless both the government and the
\nconsumers cooperate in this effort, the whole exercise to bring
\ndown prices may prove unavailing.<\/p>\n
-- The Dawn, Karachi<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rising-prices-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }