AIRLINK 62.48 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (3.39%)
BOP 5.36 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.19%)
CNERGY 4.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.43%)
DFML 15.50 Increased By ▲ 0.66 (4.45%)
DGKC 66.40 Increased By ▲ 1.60 (2.47%)
FCCL 17.59 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (4.33%)
FFBL 27.70 Increased By ▲ 2.95 (11.92%)
FFL 9.27 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.32%)
GGL 10.06 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1%)
HBL 105.70 Increased By ▲ 1.49 (1.43%)
HUBC 122.30 Increased By ▲ 4.78 (4.07%)
HUMNL 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.92%)
KEL 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.1%)
KOSM 4.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.97%)
MLCF 36.20 Increased By ▲ 0.79 (2.23%)
OGDC 122.92 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (0.43%)
PAEL 23.00 Increased By ▲ 1.09 (4.97%)
PIAA 29.34 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (7.51%)
PIBTL 5.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-2.36%)
PPL 107.50 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.12%)
PRL 27.25 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (2.79%)
PTC 18.07 Increased By ▲ 1.97 (12.24%)
SEARL 53.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.17%)
SNGP 63.21 Increased By ▲ 2.01 (3.28%)
SSGC 10.80 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.47%)
TELE 9.20 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (8.36%)
TPLP 11.44 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (8.13%)
TRG 70.86 Increased By ▲ 0.95 (1.36%)
UNITY 23.62 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.47%)
WTL 1.28 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 6,944 Increased By 65.8 (0.96%)
BR30 22,827 Increased By 258.6 (1.15%)
KSE100 67,142 Increased By 594.3 (0.89%)
KSE30 22,090 Increased By 175.1 (0.8%)

PM Khan vows to use all resources to bring down food inflation

  • “From next week we will have our strategy in place & action will begin using all state organisations & resources to bring down food prices,” he added.
Published October 10, 2020

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday announced that his government will take action against the rising food prices from Monday coming week.

“Starting Monday in the coming week, our government will use all the resources at the disposal of the state to bring down food prices,” said PM Khan in a tweet post.

The PM said that his cabinet is examining the causes of the recent price hike, and has set up a strategy to bring down food prices.

“We are already examining causes of the price hikes: whether there is a genuine supply shortage or simply hoarding by mafias; smuggling, if any; or a price rise due to international prices such as for palm oil, lentils, etc.

“From next week we will have our strategy in place & action will begin using all state organizations & resources to bring down food prices,” he added.

Inflation data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reveals that the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 9.04 percent last month compared to 8.2 percent in August 2020.

The major contributors to the inflationary spiral remain perishable food items partly attributable to (i) seasonal factors (inexplicably the price of potato rose by 6.81 percent in September in comparison to August at a time when the government is debating whether to allow potato exports to Russia because of a surplus crop in this country - an item used in the manufacture of vodka), (ii) partly due to the rise in transport costs as a consequence of the rise in petrol prices with a significant tax component, and (iii) partly due to supply chain issues due to delayed/flawed decisions pertaining to ensuring the availability of some commodities in the domestic market for example wheat and sugar while blaming their price rise entirely on the 'mafias', more accurately defined as cartels.

Meanwhile, the prices of wheat flour have surged to an all-time high of Rs75 per kilogram, mainly due to hoarding despite massive import of wheat grains. The federal government in July this year allowed duty-free import of wheat to control the prices of wheat flour and avoid the shortage of the commodity in the local market.

Comments

Comments are closed.