government to impose restrictions on onion export
Published on: December 18, 2023.
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The caretaker federal government in Pakistan has made the decision to impose restrictions on onion exports due to the continuous rise in prices. In order to discourage onion exports, the government has introduced advance payments as a requirement. Additionally, a minimum export price for onions has been set. These measures have been implemented to prevent an expected shortage of onions and to prevent further increases in prices.
The decision to impose restrictions on onion exports comes at a time when Pakistan is experiencing a surge in short-term inflation. In the week ending on December 14, inflation increased by 43.16%, largely driven by pulses, rice, and vegetables. Gas prices and electricity tariffs have also risen compared to the previous year.
On an annual basis, various items have seen significant price increases. Gas charges for Q1 have increased by 1108.59%, while cigarette prices have risen by 93.22%. Other items with notable price increases include chillies powder (81.74%), wheat flour (81.40%), garlic (71.17%), rice basmati broken (64.30%), rice IRRI-6/9 (60.64%), gents sponge chappal (58.05%), gents sandal (53.37%), sugar (50.52%), gur (50.42%), and pulse mash (44.80%). However, the price of onions has seen a decrease of 25.11% compared to the previous year.
According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the prices of 19 items have increased, 10 items have decreased, and 22 items have remained stable compared to the previous week. Some of the items that have seen the highest increase in prices include sugar (6.02%), pulse gram (2.57%), eggs (2.33%), rice IRRI-6/9 (1.54%), pulse moong (1.23%), georgette (1.16%), onion (1.05%), cooked beef (0.76%), pulse masoor (0.69%), shirting (0.43%), long cloth (0.20%), and LPG (0.16%). On the other hand, potatoes (12.18%), tomatoes (5.18%), tea Lipton (2.57%), chicken (1.19%), rice basmati broken (0.52%), mustard oil (0.36%), garlic (0.33%), and vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (0.31%) have seen the most significant price decreases.
Overall, the imposition of restrictions on onion exports and the rise in inflation indicate the current economic challenges faced by Pakistan. It remains to be seen how these measures will impact prices and availability in the coming weeks and months.
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