True to form, the 2013 Election Manifesto unveiled by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) focuses on provision of basic necessities to the people. The newest list of promises reads like a throwback to the 1970s when the party’s slogan of “roti, kapra aur makaan” became a national mantra.
However, over the past five years the PPP-led coalition government didn’t fare all that well in making these very necessities affordable for the people. As is evident from the table, prices of 13 basic food items shot through the roof over this period, rising by an average of 84 percent.
The increases in prices were brought on for various reasons; some at the government’s behest, like electricity tariffs and wheat prices. Others rose as a consequence of the government’s actions, while still others increased due to lack of government response.
The wheat support price sat a relatively paltry Rs625 per maund when the PPP-led coalition assumed power. Successive increments to that support price have encouraged domestic farmers to grow more of the staple food item.
Higher support prices have come as a kind of tradeoff, because consumers have been forced to pay higher prices for the staple item. However, the fact that Pakistan now produces enough wheat to cover domestic demand is a milestone achievement for boosting food security.
Similarly, higher electricity tariffs were unavoidable given that the government has been overburdened by blanket subsidies on energy and fuel. Even though the upward revisions in electricity tariffs were warranted and badly needed; they were bound to shock the public at large.
But not all increases in prices of food and essential items can be justified as easily.
Border controls during the past five years have been dismal and as a consequence, smuggling across international borders has been rampant. Besides, persistently high inflation which sometimes rose beyond interest rates in the country also encouraged hoarding of commodities such as sugar.
Government policies are at least partly to blame here. According to USDA, the recent decision by the ECC to subsidize sugar exports through an inland freight subsidy and reduction in FED might erode the stocks, forcing the country to import sugar next year.
And then there were the floods. Prices of poultry received a shock as more than 200,000 animals fell victim to the rushing waters. Prices of other food items had also spiraled as a consequence.
In a nutshell, prices of food and other essentials rose significantly; and for various reasons. However, the general public is usually uninterested in the rationale behind price increases; especially when real wages have not risen significantly.
And for that reason, the slogan of “roti, kapra aur makan” may not be the best rallying cry for the PPP or other political parties that have remained part of the outgoing alliance.
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Average retail prices (Rs)
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Item FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 % Change-
5 yrs
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Wheat Flour - Kg 18.07 25.64 28.77 29.56 30.27 68%
Rice (Irri-6) - Kg 29.32 39.35 34.43 38.87 45.66 56%
Milk Fresh (Unboiled) - Ltr. 30.45 36.62 42.32 50.10 58.08 91%
Tea in Packet - 250 grams 68.28 97.94 120.77 139.17 168.95 147%
Cooking Oil Tin - 2.5 Ltr. 316.32 371.38 359.05 435.88 502.23 59%
Vegetable Ghee (Loose) - Kg 108.43 110.63 112.04 150.31 166.22 53%
Egg Hen (Farm) - Dozen 49.45 58.80 65.67 72.78 86.94 76%
Beef (Cow/Buffalo with bone) - Kg 123.30 143.82 174.49 215.42 252.29 105%
Mutton - Kg 236.49 262.03 316.52 411.48 481.74 104%
Chicken (Farm) - Kg 83.39 103.12 126.22 130.98 148.75 78%
Sugar (Open Market) - Kg 27.92 38.72 57.11 72.72 61.09 119%
Potatoes - Kg 15.22 20.35 23.74 27.59 25.37 67%
Tomatoes - Kg 28.50 29.67 27.72 44.86 47.05 65%
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Source: Federal Bureau of Statistics