PRICES of most essential items on the Karachi wholesale commodity markets remained stable as supply position showed a considerable improvement over the preceding week. Arrivals of wheat and gram and some other type of pluses harvesting of which have resumed along with wheat remained fairly steady as agents send these commodities in bulk to get a better price, market sources said.

However, as the holding capacity of leading brokerage houses and stockists is massive, they did allowed only orderly decline in an effort to keep price trend in their favour, they said.

They said, prices of wheat, for instance, should have fallen to last year’s level of below Rs1,000 per bag, they stood firm above this level as big players are in no mood to relax their grip on the wholesale market.

“During the last couple of years, commodity trade is in the tight grip of those who can line up massive funds to corner the floating stock”, says a leading broker adding, “at the time of harvesting they tried to corner as much as stocks as they could and put them in their city go-down”.

Apart from essential items, some of the industrial raw materials, notably guar, which has a number of industrial uses is also experiencing the shortage, having negative impact on the exports of its by-products, they said.

Irrespective of a short or a normal crop, they did not allow prices of guar, bajra, jowar and some other industrial items to fall below their pre-determind selling rates, they said.

The government has imported a substantial quantity of wheat and sugar to make up the local shortfall and ensure a fair price to the consumers but failed to push prices to last year’s levels.

Supply and demand factors seem to have become irrelevant as speculators has a complete hold on the commodity trade and try to determine daily prices in the absence of any official check, market sources said.

Rice prices remained stable around the previous levels amid steady physical shipment of the commodity to foreign countries under the recently signed export contracts. A ship of two including big ones capable of loading 20,000 tons of the commodity remains in the port loading the consignments meant for different destinations including Africa and the Gulf.

After mid-week in physical trading, pulses, which have been static around the previous levels for the last couple of weeks, came in for strong buying both from the dealers and retailers followed by reports of falling imports and holding back of stocks by some of the stockists and importers.

Prices of local stuff, notably tuver, gram whole and gram dal were held unchanged thanks to steady new crop arrivals but imported types rose sharply under the lead of masoor whole, masoor dal and urad, which posted gains ranging from Rs.200.00,the highest Rs.700.00 being in urad.

Among the other essential items wheat and sugar were traded around the previous levels as supplies matched the local demand but ready offtake was Modest as buyers made modest covering purchases.

Desi Sugar and gur on the other hand remained in active demand and both rose by Rs.50.00 to 75.00 despite steady new crop arrivals from the Sindh markets.

On the wheat front, however, both the millers and the private sector investors remained busy and according to market sources purchases substantial quantise direct from the growers through their agents.

Barring IIR-broken, which fell by Rs.20.00 on selling prompted by reports of fall in export demand, rice sector ruled firm amid reports of steady shipments against the previous deals.

But as the growers are inclined to sell their produce to the agents at their doorsteps on cash basis, they preferred to sell in part their stocks to them rather than to the official procurement cebtres owing to some procedural problems and shortage of bag.

On the cereal sector both maize and bajra was actively traded amid reports of short supply and prices of both were quoted higher by Rs.50.00 per bag higher.

Oilseed sector showed firm trend under the lead of cottonseed and rapeseed followed by castorseed, which were traded around the previous levels but til was An exception,which rose by Rs50 to 75 amid reports of revival of export demand.

Oilcakes showed divergent trend and while rapeseed cakes suffered a sharp fall of Rs20 to 25 per 40 kg on selling prompted by steady new crop arrivals from the Sindh markets,cottonseed cakes were held unchanged.

—M.A.