LAHORE - Almost all essential kitchen items remained high in open market, as significant increase in the prices of perishable and non-perishable food items including, onion, tomatoes, banana, sugar, eggs, milk fresh and curd was observed. However, the rates of grocery items are stable in Ramazan bazaars.
Traditionally the prices of fruits and vegetable at the advent of Ramazan go spiralling high by 80-100 per cent. Almost all veggies rates, including potato, tomato, onion, garlic, ginger, cucumber, pease, lady finger, and bringle, have shot up in local markets. Like past, this year also the price control system of provincial government appears to have failed in controlling the prices during Ramazan. In open market, the onion was being sold at Rs50 per kg, tomatoes at Rs50-60 per kg, banana at Rs80-120 per dozen, sugar at Rs58 per kg, and eggs were being sold at Rs 85-90 per dozen. Prices of fresh vegetables including capsicum at Rs60 per kg, bitter gourd at Rs40 per kg, pumpkin was available at Rs 40-45 per kg, green tori at Rs 60 per kg, tinda at Rs 60-70 per kg, lemon at Rs200 per kg, cucumber from Rs 60 to 70 per kg and ladyfinger price is from Rs40-60 per kg.  Fruit prices almost remain unchanged as mango was available at Rs70-100 per kg, peach at Rs200 per kg, grapes at Rs250 per kg , melon at Rs 30-40 per kg, while water melon at Rs30 per kg and apple at Rs200-300 per kg.
The official rate of mutton is fixed at Rs500 per kg but it is sold at Rs650-700 per kg while the control rate of potato is Rs58 but it is available at Rs60-70 per kg. In the same way onion’s official rate is Rs30 but is available at Rs45-50 per kg. The official rate of banana is Rs81, but it is being sold between Rs100 and 120 per dozen. Milk is sold at Rs65-70 per litre and yogurt at Rs75 per kg as against their official rates of Rs60 per litre and Rs65 per kg respectively.
The prices of non perishable food items including basin was Rs120 per kg, dates were being sold at Rs140-200 per kg, wheat flour bag 10 kg was being sold at Rs 305, vegetable ghee loose at Rs 160-170 per kg, vegetable ghee tin (2.5 kg) at Rs510, cooking oil tin (2.5 liter) was being sold at Rs 540, rice basmati broken at Rs 75-85 per kg , moong pulse washed at Rs 160 per kg, masoor pulse washed at Rs 128 per kg, mash pulse washed at Rs 149 per kg.
The price lists issued by the local administration seems a showpiece in the shops. The retailers, particularly of fruits and vegetables, continued to fleece the consumers despite tall claims of the authorities concerned to control price hike.