As Eid-ul-Adha and the budget approach, prices of daily essentials have increased across the country. According to the Statistics Bureau’s weekly report, tomato prices rose the most by 16.94 percent in one week. Prices of potatoes, onions, bananas, and eggs also went up noticeably. Additionally, sugar and broken rice prices showed an increase.
The report also stated that prices of petrol, fresh milk, flour, lentils, and jaggery have gone up. However, chicken and garlic prices decreased, with chicken dropping by 11.22 percent and garlic by 3.71 percent. Ghee, cooking oil, and LPG prices also fell during the week.
The Statistics Bureau noted that 18 essential items became more expensive, while prices of 6 items declined in the last week. Meanwhile, prices of 27 items remained stable. The overall inflation rate increased slightly by 0.02 percent on a weekly basis.
This price rise is due to increased demand before Eid shopping and the upcoming budget. People are facing financial pressure as daily necessities are getting costlier. The government hopes the situation may improve after the budget announcement.
Price hikes before Eid are common, but this time budget concerns have added to the increase. Experts say that better government policies are needed to control inflation and ease the burden on the common people.