Controlling prices

The price of food has remained one of the biggest burdens on people across the country over the last few years. Food price inflation has been high, and mechanisms to control it have not worked. In this situation, the Competition Commission of Pakistan, following a
decision reached at the last National Price Monitoring Committee chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, has been asked to set up a monitoring commission to manage food prices by tackling import and export issues, determining the support price for food – which is in short supply – and dealing with other issues that impact food prices. We also know that hoarding is not an uncommon occurrence, done to push up prices especially when a particular item is in short supply. There are all kinds of cartels organised around just this, and as such the problem is one which falls under the mandate of the Competition Commission.
We hope the steps that are to be taken and which have been agreed to after consultations with officials from all relevant departments will have the desired impact. Food is essential to the life of every family. Surveys conducted over the years show growing rates of malnutrition in the country, notably in interior Sindh, and this is linked in part to rising costs. Poorer nutritional quality has also been noted in households in all urban centres. If the government is able to keep food prices under check, the service will be an enormous one in a situation where large portions of every budget are used for buying food items. Experts have pointed out that as a percentage, the amount spent on food is far higher in our country than in many more developed ones. It is good news that the government has at least taken note of the situation and decided to make an attempt to remedy it. Unfortunately, as we have seen in the past, plans do not always work out too well. We hope that in this case, there will be a break from this precedent and we will see some success in keeping down prices so that food is available to every citizen of the country.