The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet has approved Ramzan Relief Package worth Rs 2 billion. It has also announced a reduction in the prices ranging from Rs 4 to Rs40 of some 16 edible items to be sold to the general public at utility stores during the holy month of Ramzan. The ECC has also formed a committee to devise a system to implement the Ramzan package, ensuring that only the deserving people utilise it. No doubt the package is good in principle but its implementation in letter and spirit is questionable on two accounts. First, how is the government going to offer subsidies on edible items when the government is faced with the key economic challenge of reducing higher budget deficit? Where will the money come from to provide edibles to the public on subsidised prices for a whole month? The system of subsidised food items has long been removed due to fiscal constraints. Second, how fairly the newly formed committee will deliver, as these committees have been used to benefit only the hoarders in the past. How credible the committee members are and how the subsidised items are going to be offered will determine the success and efficacy of both the committee and the Ramzan package. There is also a general complaint about the low quality of subsidised goods sold at the utility stores. Usually, these items are substandard and sometimes even not fit for human consumption. Majority of the people have to turn to the open market to fulfil their needs. What is the use of such relief packages if they add to public despair? Moreover, a large segment of deserving population cannot avail this facility due to limited outreach of utility stores. There are reports of at least 30 percent increase in the prices of essential kitchen items throughout the country as Ramzan approaches. The unholy trend of price hike will remain the same throughout the holy month. Offering a relief package on the advent of Ramzan is not the solution of the problem; it is but a drop in the ocean. Enforcing a price control mechanism that could maintain prices at a reasonable rate throughout the year is the need of the hour. According to a new global report on food prices, the eating patterns of 57 percent of Pakistanis have changed due to the double-digit price hike in food items since 2009. The government should support our farming community with appropriate incentives to ensure cheaper and smoother domestic production and supply. Otherwise, short-term plans like the Ramzan package will never help resolve the agonising issue of price hike. *