Muhammad Ali Asghar
LAHORE, Apr 19 (APP):No dearth of edibles and other grocery items anywhere in Punjab while panic-buying by people has over after they realized that government is ensuring proper food supply even during the lockdown for maintaining social distancing, the only way to control coronavirus pandemic.
Wheat flour, sugar, ghee, cooking oil, pulses and other edibles are now available in abundance, and now-a-days pulses prices are much lower when compared with price list five months back. Utility Store Corporation (USC) also increased range of grocery and other daily use items in its retail stores to the satisfaction of customers’ needs. Government is providing wheat to flour millers as per their demands.
Lahore Super Markets Association (LSMA) Secretary General Imran Saleemi, Utility Stores Corporation (USC) Zonal Manager Lahore Faizan Hameed and former President of Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) Khaleeq Arshad confirmed these facts to APP here on Sunday.
LSMA Secretary General said though prices of grocery items are fluctuating on daily basis, the prices of pulses are well below the price list five months ago.
To a question, he said, there was uncertainty when first 10-day lockdown started on March 25 and “We have experienced panic buying, and customers’ rush at superstores increased manifolds, however the situation got normal gradually.”
The supermarkets again flood with customers following another 10-day extension in lockdown till April 14 because people were presuming compete lockdown or curfew like situation next. But with current extension in lockdown (April 15 to 25), the people finally realized that government is ensuring uninterrupted food supply even during lockdown aimed at maintaining social distancing to control pandemic coronary virus, and now super markets’ situation is quite normal, while every item is available in abundance, he maintained.
To another question, Imran Saleemi said, “Around 15 days ago, we were not taking orders of ration packages (for the poor families) by philanthropists and welfare organizations as at that time, catering to even regular customers was an uphill task for us due to over-crowding at stores. Secondly, we were running short of labourers/workers as everyone of them was leaving us as their families were calling them back home. However, today no dearth of grocery and other items and each and everything is normal, and we are now also receiving orders of ration packs for the families under financial crunch in the corona-led situation. I am completing 6600 rations packs’ order by Sarwar Foundation, and these packs also include 20 to 25 thousand kilogram of pulses.”
LSMA Secretary General Imran Saleemi however called for rescheduling timing of super markets from 10am to 10pm instead of 9am to 5pm during lockdown period, citing that grocery ranging over 100,000 items needs more time for shopping as each customer carries a lengthy list of items to shop for. “The people are usually get up late in the morning and by the time they come out, its 2pm, and it becomes difficult for storekeepers to deal with such a large number of customers within last three hours. It also creates a situation for the store managers to get ensured anti-corona SOPs by the customers,” he argued.
Saleemi claimed that supermarkets are strictly adhering to SOPs by the government for protecting the customers and stores’ staff from coronavirus.
USC Zonal Manager Lahore Faizan Hameed said that they have no issue with 9am to 5pm timing during lockdown, because people also adjust their time accordingly. Since the government expanded the scope of utility stores, he said, Utility Store Corporation (USC) has also increased range of grocery and other daily use items in its retail stores to the satisfaction of customers’ needs and “today, our customer find almost everything of his/her grocery list at our stores and at subsidized rate.”
To a question, he said, utility stores were selling sugar at Rs 68 per/kg and similarly 20kg wheat flour bag is available at Rs 800.
“Of course, we are strictly implementing government’s advisory/guideline to protect our customers and staff from dreadful virus of corona,” he confirmed.
Former PFMA President Khaleeq Arshad said that demand and supply ratio of wheat flour in the market was better now, as fresh wheat was also being grinded by the flour millers. Now-a-days, government is procuring the wheat to complete 4.5 million tons target therefore the miller has no access to buy wheat commodity direct from the growers. However Food Department is providing demand-based wheat to flour mills by issuing 72 hour permit to respective miller.
To a question, he said that flour mills will be able to purchase the commodity direct from the growers soon after the government completes its wheat procurement target of this year.
