Prices of 25 Commodities Decrease, 23 Increase and 4 Remain the Same

ISLAMABAD, June 1, 2011: As many as 25 commodities including vegetables, pulses, poultry and cooked items registered an average decrease of 7% in their prices. Twenty three commodities on the other hand registered an increase of 5% in their prices in May as compared to April 2011. Of the 52 monitored commodities, the prices of four commodities, however, remained the same, says FAFEN’s Retail Price Monitor for the month of May 2011 released here Wednesday.

FAFEN Retail Price Monitors collected the price of these commodities on 10th May, 2011 from 100 towns of 79 Districts across Pakistan.

Of the commodities that registered a decrease, the highest decrease was observed in the price of tomato that registered a decrease of 39% in its price. The decrease in the price of tomato is very much attributable to the start of its harvest season in Punjab and other parts of the country. Similarly, food items like onion and garlic, each registered a price decrease of 19% in their prices. The price of poultry items like chicken broiler (live), chicken broiler (meat) dropped by 13% and 11%, respectively. Seasonal affect was observed in the price of eggs that registered a decrease of 11%.

Given the harvest season of wheat, which is approaching its end, the prices of wheat grain, wheat flour and chapati (tanoor) registered a decrease of 7%, 5% and 3%, respectively.

Prices of pulses like masoor pulse (5%), mash pulse (4%), gram pulse (3%), gram black (2%), chickpeas (2%) and mung pulse (1%), all registered a decrease in their respective prices. The price of cooked dal plate and cooked vegetable plate decreased by 4% and 3% respectively while peanuts (3%), disprin (3%), sugar (2%), rice basmati 386 (2%) and beef (1%) also registered a decrease in their prices in May as compared to April 2011.

As far as commodities registering a price increase are concerned, apple (dark) registered the highest increase of 16% in its price followed by potato (13%), apple golden (12%), blood test (11%) and banana (11%). Fruits occupied three out of the top five positions among the commodities that registered the highest price increase in the observed month.

The prices of urine test and blood sugar test registered an increase of 9% and 1% in their prices in May as compared to April 2011. Prices of commodities like firewood (6%), desi shakar (4%), red beans (4%), yogurt (4%), kerosene oil (3%), LPG (2%), gur (2%), white beans (2%) and mutton (2%) also experienced an increase in their respective prices. The price of Panadol, prepared cup of tea and mustard oil each registered a 2% increase in their respective prices while each of the commodities like rice basmati broken, milk fresh, kinnow and red chili powder experienced a 1% price increase, respectively.

FAFEN compared the data collected by its Governance Monitors with the Sensitive Price Index of the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS), which revealed differences in the prices of many items collected from the same cities. In some items, the prices listed by the FBS were higher than those collected by FAFEN, and in some instances they were lower.

About FAFEN: FAFEN is a network of 42 civil society organizations working to foster democratic accountabilities in Pakistan. It is governed by Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability.