Inflation in Pakistan breaks its 70-year record in past 3 years

Citing Federal Bureau of Statistics, The News International reported that from October 2018 to October 2021, electricity rates have increased by 57 per cent from Rs 4.06 per unit to at least Rs 6.38 per unit.

The highest price hike has been in food items, especially edible ghee and oil. The price of ghee has increased by 108 per cent to Rs 356 per kg.

Meanwhile, the price of sugar has surged by 83 per cent in three years.

Dawn quoted Abid Qaiyum Suleri, executive director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, as saying, "Food prices tend to go up as soon as the rates of petroleum products increase."

“The second most important trigger is the flour price. People use it as a benchmark. Any increase in the flour rate automatically leads to a jump in food prices across the board,” he added.

The prices of cooking oil, sugar and chicken in last three years has been 88 per cent, 83 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively. Prices of beef, eggs, milk and rice have gone up 48 per cent, 47 per cent, 33 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively, over the same three-year period, Dawn reported.