Global Rice News

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the inflation rate for the month of February remained unchanged compared to the same month in 2023. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed that inflation slowed to 23.06% year-on-year, down from 28.34% in the previous month, mainly due to a slight decline in food prices. This is the lowest inflation rate recorded in the past 20 months, marking a significant decrease from the peak of 37.97% in May 2023.

In the past few months, inflation had consistently remained around 29%, largely influenced by the rising prices of essential food items and increases in gas and electricity rates. However, starting from January 2024, there has been a noticeable downward trend in the inflation rate.

In February, the food index experienced a decline of 1.62% compared to the previous month. This decrease in food prices played a crucial role in alleviating the overall inflation rate, despite other categories continuing to see price increases, as reported by the Dawn.

For the first eight months of FY24, the average inflation rate was 27.96%, higher than the government’s projection of 21%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also forecasted an average inflation rate of 25.9% for FY24, indicating a notable decline from the previous year’s 29.6%.

Headline inflation has remained high since mid-2022 when the PML-N-led coalition government implemented measures as per IMF demands. In urban areas, inflation was recorded at 24.9% year-on-year and 0.2% month-on-month in February, down from 30.2% and 2.4% in January. Rural inflation stood at 20.5% year-on-year with a decrease of 0.3% month-on-month in February, compared to 25.7% year-on-year and 1.9% month-on-month in January.

For more information about the rice industry in Pakistan, including rice exporters and suppliers, visit [Pakistan Rice Exporters](https://www.pakistanrice.com) and [HAS Rice](https://www.hasrice.com).