Pakistan just saw its biggest drop in rising prices for nearly a decade. Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal announced that inflation fell to just 4.5 percent this year after hitting a crushing 23.4 percent last year. The government official called a special meeting on July 4th to share these numbers with the public. This marks the lowest rate of price increases the country has seen since 2016. Economic experts say families across Pakistan can finally breathe easier.
Some foods got cheaper but others jumped up fast. LPG gas, bananas, cooking oil, chickpeas and lentils all cost less at the market. Sugar prices shot up to nearly 190 rupees per kilogram because farmers produced one million tonnes less than expected. The country only made 5.8 million tonnes of sugar this year. Officials decided to buy 500,000 tonnes from other countries to bring prices down.
Provincial leaders barely used the government's price tracking system. The Chief Secretary from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa checked the system 114 times and earned praise from the minister. Sindh's top official only logged in 10 times during the entire year. Punjab's chief secretary checked just 6 times and Balochistan's leader never used it at all. Iqbal wants monthly reports sent to all provincial heads to force better monitoring of local prices.
Some foods got cheaper but others jumped up fast. LPG gas, bananas, cooking oil, chickpeas and lentils all cost less at the market. Sugar prices shot up to nearly 190 rupees per kilogram because farmers produced one million tonnes less than expected. The country only made 5.8 million tonnes of sugar this year. Officials decided to buy 500,000 tonnes from other countries to bring prices down.
Provincial leaders barely used the government's price tracking system. The Chief Secretary from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa checked the system 114 times and earned praise from the minister. Sindh's top official only logged in 10 times during the entire year. Punjab's chief secretary checked just 6 times and Balochistan's leader never used it at all. Iqbal wants monthly reports sent to all provincial heads to force better monitoring of local prices.
