KARACHI: All-time high price of wheat flour pushed weekly inflation up 1.80% week-on-week and 46.65% year-on-year during the seven-day period that ended on March 23, 2023, pointing to even tougher times ahead.
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data issued on Friday attributed the surge in the sensitive price indicator (SPI) to the increase in prices of tomatoes (71.77%), wheat flour (42.32%), potatoes (11.47%), bananas (11.07%), tea (7.34%), georgette (2.11%), lawn (1.77%), long cloth (1.58%), pulse mash (1.57%), prepared tea (1.32%), and gur (1.03%).
On the other hand, the PBS noted a decrease in the prices of chicken (8.14%), chilli powder (2.31%), LPG (1.31%), mustard oil and garlic (1.19%) each, pulse gram and onions (1.06%) each, vegetable ghee 1kg (0.83%), cooking oil 5 litres (0.21%), pulse moong (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.15%) and eggs (0.03%).
For the week under review, the SPI was recorded at 250.66 points against 246.22 points registered last week and 170.92 points recorded during the week ended March 24, 2022.
Fahad Rauf, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities in his weekly note said the SPI saw a significant rise primarily due to a 42% increase in the price of a 20kg bag of wheat flour, which has reached an all-time high of Rs2,586.
On the other hand, prices of chicken have declined 8% WoW.
“The major reason behind the increase in wheat price is the change in subsidy mechanism. The government has now shifted from general subsidy to a targeted subsidy through BISP [Benazir Income Support Programme],” he said, adding with the onset of Ramadan, food prices would continue to rise.
“We expect March 2023 CPI [consumer price index] to come at 35.5% on a YoY basis,” Rauf added.
