SPI shows relief in kitchen costs

ISLAMABAD: The weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the most consumed items registered a 1.13 percent decrease for the week ending on March 21, marking a notable drop in the prices of essential kitchen staples such as tomatoes, potatoes, and onions, official data showed on Friday.

The SPI inflation surged 29.06 percent year-on-year compared to 32.89 percent in the previous week. The SPI, which gauges the price movement of 51 essential items, showed that nine items saw an increase in prices, while 17 items witnessed a decrease, and 23 items remained stable over the week, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The weekly SPI percentage change by income groups showed that SPI decreased across all quantiles ranging between 0.91 percent and 1.83 percent.

The Lowest Income Group witnessed a weekly fall of 1.83 percent while the highest income group recorded a fall of 0.91 percent. On a yearly basis, analysis of SPI change across different income segments showed that SPI increased across all quantiles ranging between 21.96 percent and 33.23 percent. Yearly SPI for the Lowest Income Group increased by 21.96 percent while the highest income group recorded an increase of 26.2 percent.

Significant declines were observed in tomato prices, which plummeted by 36.7 percent to Rs105/kg, onions by 19.6 percent to Rs202/kg, potatoes by 4.02 percent to Rs67/kg, garlic by 2.87 percent to Rs599/kg, mash pulse by 1.25 percent to Rs537/kg, wheat flour by 1.02 percent to Rs2,732/20kg bag. Additionally, sugar prices decreased by 0.95 percent to Rs144/kg, masoor pulse by 0.86 percent to Rs332/kg, and diesel by 0.60 percent to Rs286.67/liter.

Conversely, some items experienced price hikes, including LPG by 1.5 percent to Rs3,498/11.67kg cylinder, shirting fabric by 0.74 percent to Rs228/meter, beef by 0.53 percent to Rs884/kg, rice basmati (broken) by 0.48 percent to Rs225/kg, and mutton by 0.42 percent to Rs1,814/kg. Similarly, mustard oil prices increased by 0.40 percent, and rice Irri 6/9 by 0.25 percent compared to the previous week. Several items remained stable in price, with no significant changes observed, including plain bread, fresh milk, loose curd, and various other household items.

On a year-on-year basis, the trend indicated substantial price increases in several key commodities. Gas charges for Q1 surged by 570 percent, chili powder by 86 percent, men's sponge chappal by 58 percent, garlic by 57.4 percent, onions by 55 percent, men's sandal by 53.4 percent, gur by 40 percent, sugar by 35 percent, and salt powder by 33 percent. Similarly, energy-saver prices increased by 30 percent, and mash pulse by 27 percent.

However, decreases in prices of some items were also noted. These include 5-liter cooking oil, which became cheaper by 21.3 percent, 2.5 Kg vegetable ghee by 18.5 percent, 1 Kg vegetable ghee by 18.4 percent, mustard oil by 14 percent, bananas by 13.5 percent, and diesel price down by 2.5 percent compared to the same week prices of the previous year.