Prices of some food items, gold decline in Kabul

KABUL (Pajhwok): The prices of cooking oil, flour, sugar and gold declined, but rates of other food items stayed stable during the outgoing week in Kabul, market sources said on Saturday.

Food items

Zmarai Safi, head of the Food Traders’ Association, said the price of a 49-kilogram bag of Indian sugar went down from 2,550afs to 2,500afs.

Likewise, the price of a 49-kilogram sack of Kazakh flour decreased from 1,350afs to 1,300afs and a 16-litre bottle of Malaysian cooking from 1,700afs to 1,650afs.

The price of a 24-kg bag of Pakistani rice remained unchanged at 2,600afs, a kilogram of African black tea at 400afs and the same amount of Indonesian green tea at 350afs.

Hamid Sufizada, a retailer at Dahna-i-Bagh market, put the retail price of a 49-kg bag of Kazakh flour at 1,350afs, a 24-kg bag of Pakistani rice at 2,650afs and a 49-kg sack of Indian sugar at 2,550afs.

A 16-litre bottle of cooking oil accounted for 1,700afs, one kilogram of black tea for 400afs and the same quantity of green tea for 450afs, he added.

Gold prices down

Mohammad Fawad, a jeweller in Timor Shahi area, said the price of one gram of Arabian gold decreased from 6,100afs to 5,950afs and the same amount of the Russian variety fell from 5,000afs to 4,700afs.

Fuel prices

A worker at the Ahmadyar pump station told Pajhwok one litre of petrol cost 61afs while liquefied gas sold for 50afs.

He put the price of one kilogram of diesel at 58afs.

Afghani vs dollar

Haji Mohammad Hussain, owner of the Sadaqat Money Exchange Service, said the local currency strengthened during the week as one US dollar was traded at 70.70afs and 1,000 Pakistani rupees at 245afs.

During the previous week, one US dollar accounted for 71.20afs and 1,000 Pakistani rupees 247afs. The spike in the afghani value is essentially linked to periodic dollar auctions by the central bank.

hz/mud