The life of the average citizen continues to become tougher as the government struggles to control inflation. The prices of staple items like rice, wheat, lentils, and vegetables have risen again. Retailers and utility stores sell items at much higher rates than the actual prices fixed by the government. This artificial inflation is adding fuel to fire.
There is a need for greater government oversight and regulation, at least in major cities if not the entire country. According to the data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, prices of basic commodities have increased enough for the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) to be amplified by 0.56 percent within one week.
The unchecked increase in prices of food staples such as wheat flour, sugar and vegetables places a punishing burden on lower-income households who spend a larger portion of their limited income on these items. It also plays more easily into the narrative of government incompetence and inaction.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Planning Minister Asad Umar have claimed that inflation is on the decline due to their economic policies. According to them, the rate of inflation is lower today than when the PTI government was formed. On the other hand, the premier has also approved another hike in petroleum prices.
Oil price increases are generally thought to increase inflation and reduce economic growth. Oil prices directly affect the prices of goods made with petroleum products, while the increase indirectly affects costs such as transportation, manufacturing, and heating.
If the situation could not be controlled, it will be the people who will suffer the most. Given that inflation is a recurring issue in Pakistan, one that is proving to be impossible to eradicate completely, it would bode well for the authorities to focus on small-scale initiatives.
Regulating the market locally, before going national with the scheme, would be a way to ensure that the problem is minimised. The government needs to undertake extensive campaigns of price monitoring and stock homogenisation so that inflation cannot be artificially induced as well.
