No relief for consumers as retailers defy govt

KARACHI: The year 2024 did not prove to be different from the previous years as retailers continue to defy official price lists, keeping the rates beyond the affordable level of many cash-starved consumers who are already grappling with the inflated power and gas bills. Even a ban on onion and banana exports for one month till April 15 failed to transform into a price relief for the end users. Amid the soaring demand, retailers kept the onion rates unchanged at Rs260-300 per kg, while fruit vendors charged Rs200 per dozen for bananas of small size and Rs250 for large size, showing no notable drop in their rates after the ban. Consumers witnessed a huge presence of low quality bananas of small size on the first day of Ramazan, blaming the retailers for releasing the stocks that were hoarded to make windfall on soaring demand.