Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The National Price Monitoring Committee was informed here on Wednesday that the headline inflation measured by Consumers Price Index (CPI) has been contained at 2.86 per cent in FY 2016 as compared to 8.62 per cent in FY 2014 and 4.53 per cent in FY 2015.

The National Price Monitoring Committee met here at Finance Division under the Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar. The meeting noted that the inflation recorded in FY 2016 was the lowest in 47 years. The CPI in July 2016 inched to 4.1 per cent as compared to 1.9 per cent in July last year. The meeting also noted the weekly trend of Sensitive Price Index (SPI) which monitors the prices of 53 items since July 2015 and found that prices of more than 50 per cent items were stable.

The meeting however observed that the price movement of essential items and observed that the prices of Wheat Flour, Rice Basmati Broken, Rice Irri-6, Chicken, Eggs, Cooking Oil, Vegetable Ghee (tin and loose), Bananas, Moong Pulse and Onion decreased as compared to last year while the prices of Wheat, Beef, Mutton, Milk Fresh, Powdered Milk, Mash Pulse, Gram Pulse, Sugar, Red Chillies and Garlic increased.

The meeting noted that the prices of poultry have declined as compared to last year and were now stable on account of government supportive policies. He showed concern on the increasing trend in prices of milk powder and advised CCP to look into the matter to eliminate undue profit margin. The rising trend of potatoes prices was also discussed in the meeting and the minister urged the provincial governments to be more vigilant to control the prices and concerned federal ministries to take necessary measures in this regard and stressed to catch this issue right now so that the prices may not rise further.

Dar also urged “We should look into the canning of tomatoes paste when the prices of tomatoes are lower so there remains continuous supply of tomatoes products in the market”. He also advised CCP to examine the increasing meat and mutton prices trend and bring up the findings in the next meeting so that corrective measures are taken. The increasing trend in prices of pulses was also observed by the minister and he advised Ministry of Food Security and Research to expedite the process to increase the supply of pulses in the market to arrest the rising trend in prices.

The meeting also reviewed the prices in sasta bazaar and open market and noted that the prices are much lower in sasta bazaar as compared to open market. He urged that the people should benefit from these bazars. The meeting also reviewed the regional price comparison of 22 essential commodities among Islamabad, New Delhi and Dhaka and observed that the prices of nine items which include wheat, wheat flour, chicken farm, petrol, diesel, rice basmati, vegetable ghee, moong and mash pulses are lower in Pakistan as compared to New Delhi and Dhaka, while nine items including beef, tomatoes, eggs, Milk fresh,  sugar, mutton, red chillies, onion and gram pulse are second lowest and only five items such as potatoes, masoor pulse, DAP, tea and urea are higher.

The meeting was attended by the representatives from the Provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhthunkhwa, Islamabad Capital Territory, Ministries of Industries, Law and Justice, Commerce, National Food Security and Research, Interior, Planning Development and Reforms, Inter Provincial Coordination, Statistics Division, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Utilities Stores Corporation and Federal Board of Revenue.

The meeting also noted international prices movement of essential commodities and found no abnormal price behaviour.