The cost of vegetables has risen in Lahore following widespread flooding that severely damaged crops, with tomatoes now going for as high as Rs. 500 per kilogram.
According to a private TV program, shop owners established arbitrary pricing when flooding disrupted the supply chain.
At Rs. 300 per kg for onions and Rs. 400 for lemons, respectively. When compared to the official government cost of Rs. 80 per kilogram, the price of tomatoes is at least six times higher, while the price of onions is five times higher. Additionally, the cost of ginger and garlic has increased.
“Now the poor man can only gaze at tomatoes and not buy them,” a buyer said. “Onion which was never sold above Rs. 100 a kg is now being sold at Rs. 250 or Rs. 300,” he added.
The shop owners said that they purchased vegetables at exorbitant costs from the wholesale market and blamed the absurdly high prices on market forces.
Due to a shortage in the market and the damage to the crops by the Sindh floods, prices of various fruits and vegetables have sharply increased throughout northern Sindh and are predicted to rise further in the coming days.
These days, the cost of a kilogram of cauliflower is between Rs. 200 and Rs. 250. According to a vegetable vendor at the neighborhood market, it cost Rs. 100 per kilogram during the first week of August.
He further stated that on Sunday, the price of onion and tomato per 5kg in the wholesale market (Mandi) exceeded Rs. 1,200.
To read our blog on “Attock has declared a flood emergency,” click here.
