Pakistan is being grappled with the highest-ever inflation according to the Bureau Of Statistics, Annual inflation rate in Pakistan rose to 24.5% in December of 2022 from 23.8% in November.
Pakistan ranks 19th among states with the highest inflation rate. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Pakistan increased to 196.86 points in December from 195.89 points in November.
Recently food prices surged 35.5% higher than 31.2% in the previous month and still, it is increasing. Dairy products are becoming a luxury for common men.
The price of flour which is highly consumed in Pakistan has increased up to 57.3%. The skyrocketing prices of other food items are also squeezing the middle class.
The price of rice has surged 46.6%, eggs 54.4%, onions 41.5%, tea 63.8%, and gram whole 53.2% getting out of citizen’s reach.
This is a quite dire situation as it is causing the deteriorating living standards of people, a thousand health-related problems, and pushing people into Malnutrition.
Nearly 10 Million Pakistani children are suffering from stunting already. According to the Global Hunger Index, Pakistan ranked 92nd out of 116 countries which shows a serious level of hunger in the country.
Although Pakistan is an agricultural country the rise in the price of key inputs i.e. seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural machinery, transportation, and withdrawal of subsidiaries on seeds and fertilizers on IMF demand have affected crop production which has caused price hikes due to which Pakistan has to import more and pay high tariffs.
Currency devaluation, economic and energy crises, high taxes, and interest rates have quickened transport inflation by 41.2% according to data released by the Statistics Department on Monday.
Clothing and footwear prices accelerated by 17.1% and housing, water, and electricity costs rose by 7%. This year Pakistan spent 27 billion dollars on oil which was the biggest expenditure of the year. Many industrial companies have announced shutdowns considering negative growth caused by the gloomy situation.
In this alarming situation, there must be coordination between Federal and Provincial governments to cope with extreme inflation. Government should introduce policies to improve the use of petroleum products and explore new oil and gas resources.
There must be an improvement in monitoring imports and exports, currency movement, and public and private stocks. Government should adopt monetary and fiscal policies for effective income support programs. Imports should be minimized and producers and farmers must be incentivized.
