Pulses, dairy and poultry products see price hike

A report based on prices collected from 183 retail outlets in 107 districts in November

ISLAMABAD, December 06, 2012: Prices of pulses, dairy products and poultry items increased in November as compared with those monitored in October, says a Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) report.

FAFEN observers visited 183 retail outlets in 107 districts to collect prices of 52 commodities.

According to the report released on Thursday, prices of most pulses increased – washed masoor (3%), red and white beans (2% each) and black gram and washed moong (1%) but those of washed mash, gram, and chickpeas remained unchanged.

As for dairy products, prices of fresh milk and yogurt went up by 2% and 1% and on the poultry side, farm eggs registered an 8% increase as did chicken meat (7%) and live chicken (6%).

In meat, the price of beef fell 1% and that of mutton rose 1%.

Among rice varieties, basmati-386 registered a 2% hike while irri-6 and basmati broken saw no change.

On the fruit front, price of bananas dropped 10% but golden and dark red apples shot up 7% and 4%. However, all vegetables, among them onions (13%), tomatoes (8%) and potatoes (5%) recorded decline in prices.

The spices and condiments category had price of loose turmeric going up 3%, however, those of ginger and garlic decreased 14% and 7%.

Cooked items – plates of vegetables and dal – each had a 3% price increase while plain chapatti (tandoori) went up 2%. Plate of beef and a cup of hot tea witnessed no change.

Among kitchen fuels, LPG was up 2% while kerosene oil and firewood prices remained unchanged.

Except for blood test (complete picture) that went down by 4%, prices of all other medicines and medical services registered increase – Panadol and Disprin (10-tablets each) up 2% and 1% and blood sugar and urine tests (routine examination) 1% each.