Asadabad dwellers: Food prices beyond our purchasing power

ASADABAD (Pajhwok): Residents of this capital city of eastern Kunar province say the prices of food and non-food items have increased beyond their purchasing power.

Lately unemployment and poverty have increased and have confronted people with numerous problems.

Sadiq Siyar, a resident of Asadabad, told Pajhwok Afghan News people faced both joblessness and poverty and rising prices of food and non-food items had added to their miseries.

“A several times increase has been recorded in the prices of food items as compared to the past. The prices have been artificially increased by shopkeepers,” he said.

Another resident, Ziaul Haq Safi, a government servant, said he had not received his salary for the past few months and as a result he faced many problems.

“Life was somehow comfortable in the past. I have not received salary for the past few months and I am the only bread winner for a ten-member family. Everything has become expensive in the bazaar,” he said.

On the other hand, Syed Azim, deputy head of Assadabad's trade council, acknowledged that prices of food items, especially flour, oil  had risen by 20 per cent.

He says the afghani was currently depreciating against the dollar, which is why traders are selling their goods to customers at higher prices.

"People's demand is high, traders' money is stuck in banks, traders can't transfer money to buy goods, the banking system is inactive, so the price of everything is high," he said.

Meanwhile, Kunar Mayor Maulvi Nazar Mohammad told Pajhwok Afghan News a special commission had been set up in Asadabad to control food and non-food prices.

"In Assadabad, we have set up special price lists for shopkeepers to buy goods and no one is allowed to set prices on their own. Anyone who violates them will be punished," he said.

Besides Kunar, prices of basic commodities have also gone up in the capital Kabul and other provinces, which most people cannot afford.

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