Soaring food, ladies footwear prices behind Pakistan's latest inflation surge

Karachi, Nov 23 Inflation reading for the current week in Pakistan has gone up by at least 0.67 per cent, hitting an 18-week high due to increase in food and ladies footwear prices. However, the government has refused to take the responsibility and is blaming the middlemen for the surge.

As per reading of Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) on November 21, the past week has seen a consistent rise in short-term inflation, specifically due to rise in food prices, making it the highest rise since July 18, this year.

As per the figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the weekly inflation rate has risen to 4.92 per cent in comparison to the same last year.

Reports suggest that the rise in inflation was mainly due to ladies' footwear, prices of which went up by at least 55.62 per cent during the current week. Moreover, prices of food items also shot up in comparison to the previous week, contributing to the broader increase in inflation numbers.

According to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), the premier trade promotion organisation mandated to develop and promote products and services of the country in international markets, the total requirement of footwear in Pakistan is around 600 million pairs per year with the women buying between 4-6 pairs of footwear per year.

Prices of Tomatoes also shot up by at least 20.72 per cent, potatoes price went up by at least 3.8 per cent, garlic price surged by at least 3.44 per cent, and egg prices went up by at least 3.16 per cent, as per the reading issued by PBS. Other than the mentioned items, essential commodities also rose up by at least 2.30 per cent.

On the other hand, the Federal government was surprised to see the increase of prices in food items, shifting responsibility on the middlemen for the hike in cost of commodities in local markets, highlighting that the surge makes no sense compared to the downward trend internationally.

"There can be several factors that are contributing to the fluctuation in commodity prices, including reduction in vegetable production, surge in population and inadequate storage capacity of perishable goods," said economist Salman Siddiqui.

"Also, the export of crops having less-than-estimated production, such as onions and sugar, has also been cited as a reason for rising prices," he added.