Food prices including milk, ghee increase from last year: official report

The official figures have exposed government's claims of controlling inflation, and revealed that prices of food items including milk and ghee have increased from the previous year.

The reports of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and State Bank of Pakistan suggest that the rates of milk, ghee, edible oil, tea, rice, banana, potato, tomato, eggs and meat, all have increased. Petroleum prices have also hiked despite cheap crude oil in international market.

According to the investigative report of a private television channel, it has been unearthed from the official figures that the price of milk has gone up to Rs82 per liter after an increase of two rupees from June 2016 to June 2017. Beef prices (Rs335/kg) have hiked by Rs12 per kilogram, and mutton (Rs687/kg) by Rs46 per kilogram.

The price of two and a half kilogram tin pack of ghee has increased by Rs18 and become Rs462, whereas, edible oil price has become Rs470 with a hike of Rs15.

The prices of tea have surged the most, as the 200 grams of branded packet's price has become Rs203 after an increase of 45 rupees. The prices of rice became Rs69 per kilogram after increasing nine rupees.

Among fruits, banana prices reached the average of Rs115 per dozen with a raise of 14 rupees. Tomato also witnessed an uplift of Rs2 and became 41 rupees per kilogram.

The petrol prices were hiked by Rs12 per liter during the year, whereas, diesel prices surged by Rs9 per liter. On the contrary, the rate of crude oil was lowered by $20 per barrel in the international market, and prices reached $252 per barrel. The rate of bag of cement also increased by Rs26 and became Rs551.

The good news is that the rates of sugar, onion, daal mash and daal chana were lowered during the year. Still, the official figures negate government's claims that prices of food items were lowered from the last year, as the reality is otherwise.