Global Rice News

The annual short-term inflation in Pakistan has remained high for the second consecutive week, reaching over 40 percent. The increase in gas prices has been the main contributing factor to this rise, according to official data reported by Dawn newspaper.

During the week ending November 23, the inflation reading was recorded at 41.13 percent, as gas prices were over 1,100 percent higher compared to the previous year. In addition to gas, the prices of several other items have also significantly increased. Cigarettes saw a price hike of 94 percent, wheat flour by 88.2 percent, chilli powder by 81.7 percent, broken basmati rice by 76.6 percent, garlic by 71 percent, Irri-6/9 rice by 62.3 percent, gents’ sponge chappal by 58 percent, gents’ sandal by 53.37 percent, branded tea by 53 percent, gur by 50.8 percent, and potatoes by 47.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the prices of onions decreased by 36.2 percent compared to the previous year, followed by tomatoes (-18.1 percent), mustard oil (-4 percent), and vegetable ghee (-2.9 percent).

However, on a week-on-week basis, consumer prices remained unchanged during the outgoing week. This is in contrast to the previous week, where prices increased by 10 percent due to the hike in gas prices.

The short-term inflation is measured using the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which is a basket of goods and services. The current SPI stands at 308.90, compared to 309.09 in the preceding week. This index is calculated weekly and provides insights into the prices of essential commodities and services at shorter intervals in Pakistan. The data collected from 50 markets in 17 cities is used to compute the SPI.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), out of the 51 items included in the index, the prices of 18 items increased, 12 items decreased, and 21 items remained stable compared to the previous week. The items with the highest increase in prices on a week-on-week basis were garlic (4.6 percent), onion (2.4 percent), chicken (1.8 percent), potatoes (1.7 percent), pulse masoor (1.01 percent), LPG (0.8 percent), firewood (0.6 percent), wheat flour (0.54 percent), matchbox (0.52 percent), pulse moong (0.52 percent), and plain bread (0.47 percent). On the other hand, the items with the most significant price decline included tomatoes (-5.8 percent), vegetable ghee (-1.4 percent), cooking oil (-1.3 percent), banana (-0.9 percent), vegetable ghee (-0.82 percent), eggs (-0.33 percent), sugar (-0.2 percent), and packed tea (-0.17 percent).

On an annual basis, the SPI inflation reached a record high of 48.35 percent in early May. It then decreased to 24.4 percent in late August before surpassing 40 percent again in the week ending November 16.

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