Floods impact: Prices of vegetables, poultry flour surge nationwide

LAHORE: Floods across Punjab has led to sharp hikes in the prices of vegetables, poultry, and flour across major cities of the country making things unaffordable for low-income families.

In Lahore, vegetable prices have skyrocketed. Tomatoes are selling for Rs 300–400 per kg, peas at Rs 400, and ladyfinger between Rs 240–250 per kg.

Ginger is available at Rs500, garlic at Rs400, while colocasia and bitter gourd are selling at Rs160 and Rs200 per kg respectively. Shopkeepers say the floods have disrupted transportation and supply, leading to shortages.

The poultry sector is also under pressure. In Lahore, chicken meat is being sold at Rs640 per kg, while eggs are priced at Rs300 per dozen.

Traders link the increase to supply chain disruptions caused by the floods.

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Flour prices have risen alarmingly nationwide. A 20-kg bag has jumped by Rs410 in just one month, reaching Rs1,810.

In Sindh’s Sanghar district, flour prices soared from Rs80 to Rs125 per kg, while wheat prices surged by Rs700 per maund. Authorities have launched a crackdown on hoarding, banning feed mills from using wheat for 30 days and recovering thousands of illegally stored wheat sacks in Punjab.

The impact is visible in other cities as well. In Islamabad, tomatoes have disappeared from affordable markets, while potatoes, onions, and cabbage have become 150 per cent more expensive. In Jhelum, tomato prices have jumped from Rs50 to Rs220 per kg within a week due to crop damage.

Karachi is also feeling the pinch. Green vegetable prices have risen by up to 30 per cent as 70–80 per cent of the city’s supply comes from flood-hit Punjab.

Wholesale traders say the trend could worsen as damaged roads and farmland continue to disrupt supplies.