Daily Times

When the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) makes headlines for green-lighting a “substantial rise” in prices of essential items, it seems to be pursuing an agenda diametrically opposite to the much-touted “pro-people” banner. For it’s not even been a month since the new fiscal year started and the renegade expansionary budget that put a smile on working people’s faces put to the test. Already, the middle class is screaming about rising petrol prices and now, the runaway inflation in some of the most essential food items. On the recommendation of the ministry of industries and production (MOIP), ECC increased the price of ghee at Utility Stores Corporation (USC) outlets by about 53 percent (from Rs170 to Rs260/kg), sugar by 25 percent (from Rs68 to Rs85/kg), and wheat flour by almost 19 percent (from Rs800 to Rs950/20kg bag). If this is the situation at utility stores, it’s simple enough to understand the situation at other outlets.

This is happening at a time when the government itself announced that the country suffered Covid-related job losses to the tune of 30-35 percent. To increase prices of some of life’s most essential items, including staple food, is too big a burden for most people to bear at the moment. Apparently this decision was taken because of “an increasing gap” between subsidised prices offered by the USC and prevailing market prices. But isn’t that precisely what subsidies are supposed to do? Especially when the government itself floats a pro-people budget despite all the constraints of the IMF? Plus, prices are right back at the levels where Prime Minister Imran Khan blamed “mafias” and “special interest groups” of keeping them at. So are the people to believe that even when the government does what it can to rationalise prices they will eventually snap back to levels that suit market manipulators? Perhaps it would have been better, at least from the common man’s point of view, if the government hadn’t made such a fuss about these so-called mafias and left things as they were.

It’s fair to say that the events of the last few days have put the government somewhat on the back foot. It’s also pretty clear that these problems will not go away, especially food price inflation, till we revive our old self sufficiency in agri production. And it’s not short of a crying shame that a sudden rise in international food prices has left Islamabad in a rush to find supplies at affordable prices. If we had only kept up our agriculture production we would have been on the receiving end of a rare windfall because of nothing more than a sudden contraction in international trade.

There’s more bad news down the road. This particular raise in food inflation owed to our production shortfalls and miscalculations, not to mention the sudden bulge in international prices, but prices haven’t yet begun to factor in the recent rise in fuel cost. Since that will happen sooner rather than later, the people should brace themselves for yet more expensive food on the shelves just like the government should be ready to face yet more complaints and criticism from a fed-up public. It’s for a reason, after all, that inflation is called the cruelest form of taxation on the poor. The government must know that right now the people are suffering, because of the high prices, like seldom before. And it does nobody any favours by claiming to bring down prices and then agreeing to raise them at the cabinet level. *