ISLAMABAD: The National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) has called on the authorities concerned as well as the provincial governments to coordinate their efforts to ensure the provision of essential food items at affordable prices.
The committee further asked the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to check anti-competitive practices in the markets and take prudent administrative measures in this regard. It also stressed the need for chalking out a comprehensive plan in collaboration with provinces to prevent the risk of locust attacks on crops.
The NPMC meeting was held at the Finance Division on Wednesday under the chairmanship of the finance secretary to discuss the price trends of essential food items. The meeting was attended by representatives from the provincial governments, Islamabad Capital Territory, ministries of industries, interior, planning, national food security & research, officials of the Federal Board of Revenue, CCP and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The meeting was informed that CPI inflation decreased by 0.8pc month-on-month in April 2020 as compared March 2020. However, on a cumulative basis, CPI inflation increased from 6.5pc in July-April FY19 to 11.2pc in July-April FY20.
It was noted that price trends in the international market are on a decline and that would augur well for domestic prices in the future.
The meeting was further informed that Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which monitors the price movement of 51 essential items on a weekly basis, recorded an increase of 0.01pc for the week ended on 14th May 2020. During the week, 11 items recorded a decline in their prices while 26 items remained stable. This is the fifth consecutive increase in SPI during the month of April and May 2020.
Provincial governments on the occasion informed that they are regularly monitoring the prices and taking strict action against hoarding and undue profiteering.
The Sindh government stated that during the month of Ramzan, 49,833 units were checked, of which 8,902 shopkeepers were fined an amount of Rs15.717 million. Similarly, the Punjab government told the meeting that 460,337 inspections were carried out, 51,924 shopkeepers were found involved in overcharging and they were fined a total of Rs103,746,779.
The committee also discussed the price movements of essential items among the provinces/ICT and observed variations in the price level.
It also discussed the outbreak of novel coronavirus and its impact on demand and supply of essential items. The spread of pandemic has compelled the governments to close/strict the borders, however, it was informed that there is no impact of such closure on domestic prices of essential food items as trade on these borders is negligible.
