Prices of essential kitchen staples, ghee and cooking oil, have surged once again, delivering a fresh blow to already strained household budgets across Pakistan.
Producers have raised ghee prices by Rs12 per kilogram, pushing the wholesale rate to Rs535 per kg, while cooking oil is now selling at Rs572 per kg.
The impact is sharper in retail, with ghee costing Rs100 more per kg and a 5-kg pack of cooking oil priced between Rs2,800 and Rs2,850. A 16-kg tin of ghee has climbed to Rs8,550.
Popular brands, including Dalda, Mezan, Eva, and Soya Supreme, have revised prices upward, with premium varieties now selling for as high as Rs4,000 per kg.
A Mezan Olivola 10-liter can costs Rs6,400. Traders say prices of other food commodities are also rising by Rs10–15 per kg or liter, adding to inflationary pressure.
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Dealers warn the continued surge will further squeeze middle-class households, as ghee and cooking oil remain essentials for every home.
Last week, short-term inflation increased by 4.17 percent year-on-year during the week ending September 18, marking the eighth consecutive weekly rise.
As per the Sensitive Price Index, the increase was largely driven by higher retail prices of non-perishable goods such as rice, vegetable ghee, mutton, beef, chicken, LPG, and sugar.
Sugar traded between Rs195 and Rs200 per kilogram, while meat prices continued their steady upward trend.
Despite this, SPI recorded a 1.34 percent week-on-week decline, aided by falling prices of key perishables including tomatoes (23.11pc), chicken (12.74pc), and wheat flour (2.60pc).