Voice of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Friday, March 29, 2024

Price hike and woes of Landa Bazaar customers

As the mercury takes a dip the month of November brings some wintery vibes to different areas of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa

The demand for warm clothes & shoes has increased with a rush of people at secondhand cloth markets, locally known as Landa Bazaar in Peshawar, Risalpur, Mardan, Dir, Bajuar and other cities.  Landa bazaars have always been a place to look for some nice affordable winter clothes for poor and rich alike but due to Covid outbreak and subsequent lockdowns, the prices at secondhand cloth markets have also gone sky-high.

Ibrarullah, a daily-wager from Peshawar said “I came to Landa market to purchase shoes for my kids but the price is thrice high as compared to previous year.”

Despite setting ambitious target of 2.1% GDP growth, a 7% fiscal deficit اround 2.4% of the annual GDP has been lost to COVID-19۔

Jobs losses are in millions, particularly for semi-skilled and daily-wage earners. The inflation rate in Pakistan has gone up to 12.93 indicating that price-hike will continue.

Secondhand garments are imported from Belgium, Spain, France, Japan and China, but Pakistanis prefer imports from the United Kingdom because as these garments fit the kind of physique our people have.

These imported second-hand garments that are shipped and unloaded at Karachi Port include gloves, knitted caps, scarves, snowmobile suits, snowsuits, sweaters, pashminas, knitted berets, ski trousers, woolen socks and warm long boots. The lunda bazaars also offer curtains, quilts, blankets, rugs, trousers, shirts, woollies, children wear and jackets.

The low income class had been visiting Landa Bazaar for buying winter cloths since decades but this year the prices are touching sky as the item that was available at Rs500 last year now costs Rs1500.

“Winter is an earning season for us but this time pandemic has hit everyone whereas lockdown has affected the availability of winter items which has added to the prices of these items but customers are not willing to pay extra price.

So we either have to cut-down the prices or stop selling at low price.” said, Amanullah vendor at Filee market, Peshawar.

Lockdown due to coronavirus at national and international level greatly affected the transportation charges for many goods which is affecting business further adding to price-hike

“Our salaried class’s purchasing power is decreasing as winter garments we bought last year from main shops are no more affordable this year. Since secondhand imported garments are supposed to be cheap therefore I came here for shopping but prices have gone considerably high at this market too” Malik Sharjeel a customer lament.

The business of second hand winter clothes is dying due to inflation and price hike, economic collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

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