Muharram activities are at their peak and like other religious occasions, demand for commodities like pulses, rice, cooking oil, ghee, sugar, wheat, beverages, dry fruits, spices, and others, etc., has shot up by 50 to 75 percent compared to normal days. Despite the fact that Muharram this year has not generated as much business activity in food and catering segments as in previous years, still, the demand for essential food items is almost more than double than normal.
No changes were observed in the prices of pulses but the price of sugar raised Rs5 per kg in the retail market. Prices of eggs, milk, and yogurt remain unchanged. No changes were observed also in Tetra Pack milk prices of different brands. A sharp increase in prices of cooked food was observed during a survey conducted by Daily Times here on Sunday. The price of 10kg beef biryani shoots up to Rs13,500 which was available at Rs10,000 prior to Muharram while the same quantity of chicken biryani is available at Rs9,000 against the price of Rs7,000 before Muharram.
Price of chicken witnessed an upward trend as it went up from Rs280 per 40kg in the retail market even though the official rate set by Commissioner Office for today was Rs214 per kg. Ghee and cooking oil prices remained unchanged as the best quality ghee/cooking oil Dalda ghee/cooking oil is being sold at Rs1,720 per 5-liter. B-grade ghee/cooking oil prices also remained stable. Wheat flour price increased Rs30 per 5kg. Prices of the various brands of rice increased Rs5 to 15 per kg during this week as best quality Basmati Rice is available at Rs175 per kg.