Pricing mechanism across country: DCs directed to analyse wholesale, retail prices regularly

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal directed all deputy commissioners of the provinces to compare wholesale and retail prices regularly and take corrective action where necessary.

The minister urged the provincial governments to actively supervise and support this process. He also directed the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) to provide login reports to chief secretaries on a monthly basis.

Federal Minister for Planning chaired a meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) in Islamabad on Friday to review the inflationary trends and pricing mechanism across the country. The meeting was attended by the chief economist, chief statistician, senior officials from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and representatives from relevant federal and provincial departments.

He emphasised the importance of effective monitoring through the Price Scorecard system. He highlighted during the meeting that the chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accessed the system 114 times, while Sindh accessed it only 10 times, Punjab 6 times, and Balochistan did not log in at all. Among Deputy Commissioners, Islamabad logged in 27 times, Karachi 6 times, and Quetta 4 times.

The minister expressed serious concern over the underutilisation of the Price Scorecard by provincial administrations.

The meeting was informed that prices of several essential items, including LPG, bananas, mustard oil, chickpeas, and moong dal, have decreased. However, sugar prices have surged, reaching nearly Rs190 per kilogramme in most cities. The country has witnessed a decline in sugar production this year, with output falling to 5.8 million tons from 6.8 million tons. In response, the Ministry of Food has decided to import 0.5 million tons of sugar to stabilise the market.

During the meeting, the Chief Statistician presented key data indicating that the inflation rate for the fiscal year 2024-25 stood at 4.5 per cent, significantly down from 23.4 per cent recorded during the previous year. Minister Iqbal highlighted this as the lowest inflation rate in the past nine years, reflecting the government’s effective policy interventions and improved supply-side management.

In urban areas, food inflation was recorded at 4.2 per cent, compared to 6.2 per cent last year. However, supply chain disruptions due to highway closures in Sindh were noted as a contributing factor in localised price fluctuations.

Minister Iqbal also called for the development of an advance supply and demand plan for the upcoming Ramadan to avoid shortages and price hikes. He appreciated the stability in food prices during Eidul Azha and stressed the need to maintain this momentum through coordinated efforts among federal and provincial stakeholders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025