ISLAMABAD: The simmering pot of inflation in Pakistan reached a new boiling point last week, with the cost of daily essentials like chicken, tomatoes, and onions soaring by 1.36%, pushing the national rate to a staggering 44.16%.
This relentless price hike, fueled by rising fuel and food costs, is squeezing the wallets of ordinary citizens and causing widespread concern.
The Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) report paints a grim picture. For nine straight weeks, inflation has marched relentlessly upwards, hovering around 40%. Last week’s surge saw a basket of 21 items, including eggs, tomatoes, onions, lentils, and rice, significantly increase in price.
While electricity, LPG, matches, and energy savers saw a rise in prices, some items like potatoes, ghee, sugar, and cooking oil experienced a more moderate increase.
Notably, the prices of 22 items remained stable on an annual basis, with tomatoes seeing a staggering 156% increase, red pepper up by 82%, garlic rising by 60%, and sugar and flour both becoming 57% and 55% more expensive, respectively. Additionally, gas charges recorded an alarming 1108% increase over the last year.
On the other hand, onion prices decreased by 6.68% in a year, and ghee witnessed a 1.67% reduction over the past nine weeks. The persistent surge in inflation, now at a 40% increase, reflects the challenging economic conditions faced by the country.
