Overview
- Retail rates have surged to Rs500–700 per kg in Karachi, up to Rs500 in Lahore, Rs400–450 in Peshawar and Rawalpindi, and roughly Rs250–350 in Quetta, according to multiple market reports.
- Wholesale prices hover around Rs250–300 per kg while retailers charge roughly double, with official district lists near Rs170–322 going largely unenforced.
- Traders cite the end of Balochistan’s crop, reduced inflows from Iran, and halted Afghan shipments as key drivers, with some areas also reporting weather damage and transport delays.
- The Price Control Department characterizes the spike as temporary and says rates should decline next week, noting Sindh’s harvest due in November and Punjab’s crop in spring.
- Shoppers are cutting quantities or switching to substitutes, other vegetables have climbed by Rs50–100 per kg, and poultry has become cheaper due to overproduction and suspended exports to Afghanistan.