Pakistan’s inflation rate reached 9.1 percent in March 2021 from 8.7 percent in February. Inflation increased by 0.36 due to the rise in food commodity prices.
On the other hand, non-food inflation has been rising steadily in recent months due to rising energy prices.
The federal government recently removed Abdul Hafeez Shaikh from the post of Minister of Finance due to the rising rate of inflation. Prime Minister Imran Khan has selected Hammad Azhar Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue.
Hammad Azhar announced that he will take all possible measures to control the increase in the country’s rate of inflation with the help of the provinces.
With the scarcity of domestic production, inflation at the beginning of the current fiscal year was 9.3% in July, falling to 8.2% in August, before recovering to 9% in September.
Food Prices in Urban and Rural area:
In urban areas, foods whose prices rose in March compared to the previous month are eggs 12.96%, fruits 10%, potatoes 9.54%, chicken 6.58%, sugar 4.82%, tomatoes 4.67%, pulse mash 4.57%, 4.39% pulse gram, 1.61%rice, and 1.46% wheat flour.
The items whose prices fell in urban areas were 2.37% onions, 2.19% dried fruits, 1.78% fish, and 1.48% vegetables but recovered in February. The month of March registered an increase in inflation due to the prices of some consumer items and also to the increase in energy tariffs.
In rural areas, foods prices rose include eggs 15%, chicken 12.21%, potatoes 11.43%, fruits 6.08%, sugar 5.77%, besan 4.71%, pulse gram 3.89%, gram whole 2.53%, pulse puree 2.52%, pulse massoor 2.18%, vegetable ghee 1.58%, cooking oil 1.53% and also wheat flour 0.97%.
However, tomato prices decreased 6.10%, fish 1.14%, condiments and spices 0.61%, and wheat 0.33%.
Moreover, Clothing and footwear prices increased 10.72 percent, and maintenance charges for furniture and household equipment 8.85 percent.
Likewise, health and education expenses increased by 8.81% and 1.01%, respectively. Furthermore, the prices of public services (housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuel) increased 8.76 percent in the last month. Meanwhile, the prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco rose by 5.92%.
