The major drivers of inflation are the petroleum and utility tariffs hike imposed under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conditions.
This was revealed during a recent meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) on Tuesday, chaired by the Federal Minister of Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Prof. Ahsan Iqbal and Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Ayesha Ghaus Pasha.
The committee was informed that other factors such as the depreciation of the Pakistani rupee, high international commodity prices, and hoarding also further contributed to inflation.
While reviewing the prices of essential commodities, NPMC issued instructions to the relevant stakeholders to keep a close watch on the prices of food commodities and take action against those who hoard.
Presiding over the meeting, Ahsan Iqbal said that the government was taking effective measures to reduce the burden on the common man and prevent rising inflation. In this regard, a meeting of the NPMC to monitor the prices will be held on a weekly basis, he added. He also directed the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) to share its data analysis report in every meeting.
The Federal Minister issued instructions to the relevant stakeholders asking them to closely monitor the price index and ensure the projection in order to develop a better policy to control the future crisis.
The federal minister also issued instructions to PBS to regularly compare the difference in wholesale and retail prices of essential food items in different districts across the country with the help of the Ministry of Food and Industry.
The meeting was attended by Chief Economist, Chief Statistics Office and other relevant officials.
