Rising prices
Despite assurances given by various government officials that prices of essentials would remain stable during Ramadhan, this has not happened in practice.
Prices of many commodities in the market in the run up to and the first week of the holy month have registered increases. In many instances, as in the case of meat, the rise has been unprecedented.
The prices of most vegetables and fruit have also risen in varying degrees over the past few weeks despite adequate supplies and with no shortages reported from anywhere. This is a clear case of profiteering by a section of wholesalers and retailers at the expense of the hapless consumer while the government looks the other way. In view of this, one is surprised to read that the Economic Coordination Council of the cabinet on Friday expressed satisfaction at the level of prices of essential commodities in the country during October.
If the government is not even ready to accept the fact that prices of many essential items have shot up prior to and during Ramadhan, to expect it to take action against errant shopkeepers and wholesalers seems to be asking for too much.
It is time the government took more serious notice of the prevailing situation in markets all over the country and entered into a dialogue with the representatives of the wholesalers and retailers on reducing prices and keeping them at a reasonable level during Ramadhan.
The government should also initiate raids to check prices as well as the quality of items being sold so that some relief is provided to the hard-pressed public. However, it must be said that it would not be fair to blame only the government for the Ramadhan rise in prices.
The public too must play a part through consumer resistance and not letting the profiteers have their way. In this regard, consumer awareness on such issues must be raised by such organizations like NGOs, which are otherwise quite vocal on issues of public interests.
It can be safely said that unless both the government and the consumers cooperate in this effort, the whole exercise to bring down prices may prove unavailing.
-- The Dawn, Karachi