Global Rice News

Short-Term Inflation in Pakistan Eases to 22.32%, Rice and Wheat Flour Prices Drop

In the week ending May 9, official data shows that short-term inflation, as measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), eased to 22.32%. This marks the highest week-on-week fall of 1.39% since October 19, 2023. The decline in inflation can be attributed to lower prices of wheat flour, rice, and some vegetables, including onions.

Despite the deceleration, costs continued to rise throughout the week under review. Certain items witnessed a decline in prices compared to the previous week. Onions saw a significant decrease of 19.22%, followed by chicken at 18.83%. Wheat flour prices dropped by 4%, while LPG and bananas decreased by 3.67% and 2.32% respectively. Other items that saw a decline in prices were garlic (1.44%), rice basmati broken (0.75%), mustard oil and sugar (0.48% each), and firewood (0.23%).

However, there were also items that experienced an increase in prices. Tomatoes saw a significant rise of 19.24%, followed by eggs at 4.73% and potatoes at 4.38%. Pulse gram increased by 0.91%, while 5-litre cooking oil rose by 0.89%. Beef, vegetable ghee 2.5 kg, and fresh milk also saw slight increases of 0.64%, 0.44%, and 0.41% respectively.

On an annual basis, certain items experienced significant price increases. Gas charges for Q1 saw a staggering increase of 570%, followed by onions at 118.58%, and tomatoes at 101.24%. Garlic prices rose by 72.38%, while chillies powder and salt powder increased by 71.96% and 32.59% respectively. Energy saver prices rose by 29.83%, shirting by 29.71%, and gents sandal by 25.01%. Other items that saw notable increases were pulse mash (23.70%), beef (23.30%), and tea prepared (20.08%).

In contrast, several items saw a decline in prices on an annual basis. Bananas witnessed the steepest drop at 38.79%, followed by wheat flour at 28.21%, and chicken at 20.27%. Cooking oil and vegetable ghee in both 5-litre and 1 kg packaging saw decreases of 19.74% and 16.73% respectively. Mustard oil prices dropped by 13.11%, LPG by 10.52%, eggs by 7.91%, and diesel by 2.04%.

Overall, this week’s SPI-based inflation numbers indicate a decrease in short-term inflation. While some items experienced price drops, others saw increases, contributing to the overall inflation rate. It will be interesting to see how these trends continue in the coming weeks.

Source: [Dawn](https://www.dawn.com){target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”}