LAHORE - A sharp rise has been observed in the prices of sweets and bakery products that range from 10 percent to 20 percent, multiplying the woes of Lahorites who have already been exhausted by the soaring inflation, The Nation has learnt. Apparently, the hike in the prices of various sweets items, biscuits, cakes, eggs, bread and butter, seems to have been coincided with the looming change in the weather. In this scenario, some famous bakery chains in the city have increased the prices of their products from 15 to 25 percent on some commodities, making shopkeepers to charging Rs27 to Rs45 for a bread of small to standard size, which earlier was available for Rs20 to Rs35. Moreover, they increased the prices of sweets from Rs270 to Rs280 a kg, fresh biscuits from Rs220 to Rs250 a kg, milk from Rs40 to Rs50 a litre, eggs Rs50 to Rs80 a dozen and prices cakes of different types also increased from Rs290 to Rs310 and Rs320 a pound, small pizzas from Rs60 to Rs80, sandwiches from Rs20 to Rs30, and Rs40 to Rs50. On the other hand, some shops dealing in bakery and sweets products, at area level, have also increased the prices of some bakery and sweet products including sweets from Rs180 to Rs220, biscuits from Rs190 to Rs230 a kg, cakes from Rs250 to Rs300, pizzas from Rs40 to Rs60 and Rs50 to Rs70. While talking to this reporter, manager of a branch of the citys largest Sweets and Bakery chain, situated in Mazong, reluctantly said that they had slightly increased the prices of some products on the eve of Eidul Fit and not after that. However, he said that he just was an employee and not authorised to comment on such issues. Meanwhile, when this scribed tried to contact Wasim Watto and Sohaib, the linchpins of the famous Sweets and Bakery chain, they did not attend the calls. However, District Officer (Food) Dr Masood Ashraf said that the department was not authorised to check prices of such items rather they could only check the quality of such foodstuffs. Talking to TheNation, DCO Ahad Cheema, said that sweets and bakery products were not considered as staple food items and therefore did not mention or enlist in the notification regarding price control, issued by the Punjab government. He said that as per rules, the price magistrates and committees were not authorised to check or control the prices of sweets and bakery products. There is no such mechanism to check the rates of these products, he pointed out, adding that the prices of sweets and bakery products were fixed by market only, however, the authorities would try to check prices of such products.