People from different parts of Kabul and even from provinces of the country have come to the capital to purchase clothes and other necessary stuffs from markets in Kabul city. There’s huge crowd of people in city buying and selling things to get preparation for Eid-ul-Fitr.
The people usually wear new clothes during the Eid days and offer various dry fruits to better host and receive guests and relatives. In Kabul markets, there are different types of dry fruits but sold in high price.
Prices of many key and necessary food items as well as dry fruits offering to guests on Eid days have increased unprecedentedly, which has faced the people with increasing problems as most of them cannot afford to purchase them from Kabul markets.
One of the main reasons of increasing the prices of food items is the increasing rate of foreign currencies against Afghani in exchange markets in Kabul. Although the rate of US dollar against Afghani has decreased in recent months, most of key items’ prices are still high in Kabul markets. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has been able to somehow keep the Afghan currency stable.
A number of money exchangers in Kabul exchange markets believe that the US dollar value will increase in case the Afghani banknotes increase in Kabul markets. The increase of the value of US dollar against Afghani put impacts on the life of ordinary Afghans. This put each Afghan citizen in increasing problems particularly on the threshold of Eid days as they cannot afford to purchase most of key food items in markets.
Various traditions and customs make the people to get preparation to better host their guests, but increasing prices of the first and key food items and dry fruits can put them in difficult economic situation.
Hekmat Shah, a resident of Takhar province who has come to Kabul to purchase the first and key food items for Eid days, says this year the prices of the first and key food items have increased unprecedentedly in Kabul markets comparing to previous years; therefore, most people cannot afford to buy them.
“Each year, most people in groups come from provinces to Kabul to buy the first and key food items for either their shops and their homes, but it seems that most of them cannot buy them due to increasing prices of the items in markets,” Hekmat Shah added.
A number of people believe that prices of the first and key food stuff decrease on the threshold of the month of Ramadan and Eid days in most Muslim countries, but in Afghanistan, where the population is almost all Muslims, the prices of the items are sold in higher prices. They are asking the IEA to control the prices of the first and key food items in the country’s markets.
Afghanistan is considered as top producers of dry fruits in the world.
Despite the fact that dry fruits are found in the country’s markets in high quantity, their prices are still high in the country. Kabul municipality is responsible for controlling the prices of the first and key food items in markets. Although the municipality has issued price sheets of the first and key items, no change has made in prices of the items in Kabul markets.
If the prices of the first and key food items are not controlled continually, shopkeepers will see them independent and try to sell all items in higher prices in markets to get more benefit. Although the prices of the items are so high markets, the people have no choice except buying the first and key food items in high price to better host their guests during the Eid days. Amiri
Crowd of people in Kabul markets buying & selling for Eid-ul-Fitr
