KABUL (Pajhwok): Some bakeries in Kabul are selling three percent lighter bread than the standard weight set by the Municipality. Similarly, meat is being sold at a 20 percent higher rate.
Last week, the Kabul Municipality announced prices of essential items, order the sale of 135-gram bread for 10 afs, one-kilogram meat of sheep is 420 afs and one-kilogram meat of calf against 400 afs but some butchers violated the municipality price standard.
Bread Weight
Pajhwok’s investigation showed that in some bakeries the weight of 10 afs bread was more than 135gram. A bakery in the
Afshar locality sold 10 afs bread that weighed 139 grams while another bakery in the Baharistan locality sold 10 afs bread weighing 136 afs.
But the same bread in another bakery of Afshar locality weighed 133 grams while the same bread in another bakery of Baharistan area weighed 132 grams.
In one bakery of Kolola Pushta area 10 afs bread weighed 128 grams while in another bakery of Kolola Pushta locality the same bread weighed 133 grams.
Abdul Razzaq, owner of a bakery in Kolola Pushta area of Kabul, said: “We try to make sure that our bread meet the required weight but sometimes it declines unintentionally.”
He said due to soaring gas and flour prices their profit had been slashed. “Earning becomes very difficult. There is need for a strict watch on businessmen who should decline their prices because the prices of gas and flour are very high.”
Meat rate
Kabul Municipality list show one-kilogram beef should be sold at 400 afs while sheep meat should be sold at 420 afs but Pajhwok search showed that butchers shops violated municipality price list and sold meat 20 percent higher than the normal rate.
Ahmad Samim, a resident of Kabul’s Kalola Pushta area, complained the meat price was very high and a poor person could not afford to eat it.
“Butchers are compelled to sell meat at a higher price,” he said, suggesting the municipality should control prices in the cattle market.
Sulaiman, a butcher in Afshar area, said: “One kilogram of mutton is sold for 500afs and the same quantity of beef for 450afs.”
Asked why he sold meat higher than the municipality-set price, he replied: “Rates of animals in the cattle market are high. We have no option but to increase the price. I bought a calf for 26,500afs. Based on my calculation, one kilogram of beef accounts for 530afs.”
He asked the municipality to control prices in the cattle market to enable butchers to decrease the meat rate.
Kabul Municipality
A Kabul Municipality official accompanied this Pajhwok reporter who checked the bread weight and meat price.
The official strictly asked shopkeepers to display municipality price lists.
Municipality spokesperson Niamatullah Barakzai told Pajhwok Afghan News the Market Management Department regularly monitored prices in the market.
He said price lists were prepared in consultation with shopkeepers.
He stressed all shopkeepers were compelled to respect the municipality price lists.
nh/mud
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