Price collection of essential commodities is done on weekly basis for variety of purposes. The activity is carried out by the District Statistical Agencies under the supervision of concerned DSEOs. The price collection is done from selected markets and shops and the commodities, their varieties and units are also pre- specified to ensure comparability at various levels of aggregation. Commodities sold both by retail and wholesale traders come under this activity. Price collection is a UT -wide operation. While as the wholesale prices are collected from eight districts only namely Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Baramulla, Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua and Poonch, the retail prices are collected from all the 20 districts of the UT.

The analysis of the price data is carried out to determine the price fluctuations in essential commodities so as to regulate supplies to avoid shortages. This data is a useful tool for decision-making & project formulation. Prices are also collected on behalf of Labour Bureau Shimla from the Srinagar Centre consisting of two markets ( viz; Pampore and Maharaja Bazar Srinagar) and four markets from Jammu centre division (viz; Purani Mandi, Samba, Bari Barahmna and Kathua ).This data is used for construction of Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers, which is used among other things for regulation of Wages & Dearness Allowances. The Prices collected from Jammu & Srinagar markets (Urban) are sent to Committee of Secretaries (COS) every week for review besides other concerned quarters in the Central & State governments. The weekly prices are compiled in the form of a publication also which is issued on Monthly basis. The Directorate obtains daily prices of 22 essential commodities through the field functionaries from the DSEO’s Srinagar, Kupwara, Poonch and Jammu. These prices are submitted to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, GOI on daily basis for onward transmission to the monitoring cell in the union cabinet.