KARACHI - Consumers of essential food items are facing so many difficulties during these days but no one available to make a remedy to give them some relief. Unjustified increase in kitchen items badly hit the consumers who have no choice to maintain it through cut down their budgets.
In a survey of Hafta Bazaar by The Nation revealed that after recent price hike most of the consumers cut down their budgets. The weekly buyers of some necessary items like onion, tomato, potato, garlic and ginger took only half of them as compared to some months earlier. On the other side, market usually witnessed the shortage of seasonal items especially fruits or price hike in dry fruits. It is also pertinent to mention here that all the available seasonal items are very substandard.
Talking to The Nation Mahboob who is a crockery stall keeper at local super store said it is very difficult for a middle class person to maintain kitchen expenses at this time while there is no choice for lower class who already shifted on a one meal for one person a day formula.
There is no price control authority witnessed in the markets, especially in Haffta and Bachat bazaars to check the price list. And if you asked the price list from any vender, he totally denied or gives some lame excuses to produce it and specially gives the blame to the concern authorities or whole seller for it. Some vegetable and fruit stall holders in different and famous part of the city freely overcharged on each item and no one took action against those, he added.
Mahboob explain that since he started the job he saw the decline in sale of their stall item and when he asked about it to his regular customers they gave the reason of inflation which badly disturbed their routine lives. On the other side, cost of every doing business further extended due to depreciation of rupee against dollar which brought the retailers at the halt, he added.
Mohammad Sarfraz who is a hairdresser at local salon told The Nation that unjustified addition in utility bills, price hike in essential food items and educational expenses are not under the control. It was a good day when my wife cooked some quality food during a week but now it is a dream and we cannot think about it. The seasonal food items especially dry fruits and fresh fruits are out of reach while the prices of vegetable also witnessed a new height.
If you want to buy some seasonal fruit like oranges, which are just entered in local market, they are very expensive beside their poor quality because farmers and exporters usually use the best one for export and not for local market, he added.
I have four family members including my wife and two children and we are using gas stove one time in a day to make any dish and partially use in morning for breakfast. Just few months earlier my monthly gas bill was only Rs 150 and the current figure of monthly bills reached to Rs 700.
Sarfraz said that he is not only accomplishes ten hours job in a day but also does some extra work to meet his necessities but still could not overcome the situation in past and specially current month. I have to pay one month additional school fee like others.
Inflation not only hit me only but also hit the customers and people who used to take services.