KARACHI: The prices of essential kitchen items like flour, ghee, and cooking oil have continued to rise despite government assertions of a downward inflationary trend.
Branded 5-kg and 10-kg fine flour bags, according to retailers, have increased in price by Rs50 and Rs100, respectively. A five-kilogram bag of branded fine flour costs Rs630-650, up from Rs570-600 a week earlier, and a 10-kilogram bag costs Rs1,200-1,300, down from Rs1,100-1,200.
The cost of flour is not. 2.5, the cost of fine and superfine flour has increased by an average of Rs10 per kilogram.
According to a miller, the open market price of a 100 kg wheat bag has increased to Rs8,200 from Rs7,700, necessitating an increase in flour varieties’ prices.
Sheikh Umer Rehan, chairman of the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA), stated that the sudden $200 to $1,100 per tonne increase in palm oil prices on global markets caused the price of ghee and cooking oil to rise by Rs40 per litre/kg.
He stated that the import of palm oil and palm olein incurs customs duties from the government at an average rate of Rs9,500 per tonne. Ghee and cooking oil incur a tax of Rs100 per kg/litre from import to sale, with Rs60 going toward general sales tax.
