Weekly inflation decreases amid timely food imports

KARACHI: Based on the sensitive price index (SPI), the weekly inflation rate has decreased to 40.58% year-on-year for the second consecutive week.

The reduction reflects the government’s timely steps taken to control food scarcity following flood devastations in the country.

The SPI-based inflation rate dropped to 0.19% during the week ended September 15 compared to last week, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Friday.

Prices of perishables, particularly onions and tomatoes had surged on account of massive flooding across the country, which destroyed standing crops and disrupted supply chains. However, prices were brought down and managed via imports.

It was the second consecutive week that the inflation rate constantly decreased, largely due to the steps taken by the government to curb supply chain disruption amid floods that have sent the price of essential goods skyrocketing.

Data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed that the average prices of 10 essential items, onions, tomatoes, bananas and other items declined during the outgoing week.

Prices of 30 items, including tea and eggs, have risen. Meanwhile, the rates for 11 essential goods remained unchanged.

The combined income group index went down from 225.67 points during the week that ended on September 8 to 224.98 points in the week under review.

The SPI for the lowest income group decreased by 0.19% compared to the previous week. The index for the group stood at 224.98 points against 225.67 points in the previous week.

On weekly basis prices of following essential items rose:

Food items:

Tea Lipton 190 gram — 6.30%

Pulse Moong (washed) — 3.46%

Eggs — 2.54%

Pulse Gram — 2.53%

Eggs — 3.84%

Cooked beef — 2.53%

Wheat flour — 1.96%

Bread — 1.45%

On weekly basis prices of following essential items decreased:

Food items:

Onions — -16.24%

Tomatoes — -9.84%

Bananas — -2.5%

Chicken — -1.88%

Sugar — -0.95%

Vegetable Ghee (1kg) — -0.39%

Potatoes — 0.33%

Non-food items:

LPG — -2.62%

Torrential rains and floods have put huge pressure on the masses as they are deprived of basic necessities amid the disruption of agricultural produce and supply chains.

However, the improvement in prices of vegetables, particularly onions and tomatoes, is attributed to timely imports from Iran and Afghanistan.

SPI is computed on weekly basis to assess the price movements of essential commodities at a shorter interval of time to review the price situation in the country. It comprises 51 essential items and the prices are collected from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country.