MAIDAN SHAHR (Pajhwok): A number of residents of central Maidan Wardak province on Wednesday complained about increasing food prices in the holy month of Ramadan.
Provincial municipal officials stress they are trying to control prices, but say prices change on a daily basis and their price list is set for a temporary period of time.
Ahmad Jan, a resident of MaidanWardak, told Pajhwok Afghan News that food prices had jumped with the beginning of holy month of Ramadan and people could not afford to buy them.
He said he bought a 49 kilograms bag of flour for 2,170afghanis before the month of Ramadan, but now the price had risen to 2,300afghanis.
He added that a tin of 16 liters of ghee was 2,600 afghanis before the month of Ramadan compared to 2,700 afghanis now.
The government should control the prices of commodities and set price list for the market, he said.
Jan said the economic situation of most of people was weak and they could not afford to buy commodities.
However, Haji Qasim, a shopkeeper in MaidanShahr, the provincial capital, told Pajhwok that the government should talk to customs officials and major traders about controlling prices as the market mostly depended on these officials.
“The government should control traders instead of controlling the market, the government should talk with them,” he said.
Azizullah, a butcher in MaidanShahr city, also said that the price of meat had increased with the beginning of the month of Ramadan.
He sold a kilogram of beef for 380afghanis before Ramadan, but now the price increased to 450 afghanis for the same quantity of meat.
A kilogram of lamb meat previously cost 500 afghanis before Ramadan, but now its price has increased to560 afghanis, he said.
He said that one of the reasons behind the rise in meat prices was that its demand increased during Ramadan.
Meanwhile, Mulavi Abdul Ghafoor Haidar, Maidan Shahr mayor, said, “Goods’ prices change in the market every day, which is the reason we cannot set a fixed price list.”
He said they only set prices for a day or two which could not help much in controlling the market rates.
“We are still trying to find a way to control prices, because people’s economic situation here is very weak,” he concluded.
mds/ma
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