The shortage of food products and the sharp increase in the price of petroleum products contributed to Pakistan’s headline inflation speeding up to a record-high level in January.
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday, consumer prices increased by 27.6% compared to a 13.0% increase in the same month last year.
January 2023’s inflation is the highest since May 1975, when the median rate registered at 27.77 percent.
As nearly 6,000 containers are stuck in ports, including thousands of tons of ingredients for poultry feed that drove chicken prices to a record earlier this year, inflation increased month over month, rising 2.9 percent.
Due to the backlog of containers, the inflation rate—which has lingered above 20 percent since June after the coalition government restricted imports—has been worsening.
A similar sharp increase was seen in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), which measures prices in the wholesale market. It increased by 28 points, 53 percent in January compared to 24 percent in the same month last year.
The PBS reported that both urban and rural areas saw an increase in the overall inflation rate. However, urban areas saw an increase in inflation of 24 points 4 percent in January, while rural areas saw an increase of 32 points 3 percent. In January of last year, the inflation rate was 13 percent in urban areas and 12 points 9 percent in rural areas.
Analysts anticipate that the impact of the recent depreciation of the rupee and an increase in the price of petroleum products will cause inflation to continue to rise.
On an annual basis, the food inflation rates in cities and villages soared to 45 points, 2 percent and 39 percent, respectively. In January 2021, food prices in cities and villages were 11 points 8 percent and 13 points 3 percent, respectively.
The non-food inflation rate was 20.9 percent in rural areas and 15.6 percent in urban areas, respectively, compared to 12.8 percent and 13.9 percent in the same month last year.
According to the national data-gathering agency, core inflation, measured by excluding food and energy items, increased by 15 points 4 percent in urban areas and by 19 points 4 percent in a rural area during the month under review.
The most recent reading comes a week after the State Bank of Pakistan raised its benchmark rate to 17%, the highest level in more than 24 years, to stabilize a destabilizing economy due to a lack of supplies, sky-high prices, and a funding shortage.
In January, compared to the same month last year, the price of the food group increased by 15 points, 17%. The prices of non-perishable food items increased 12 points 51 percent annually within the food group, while the prices of perishable goods increased 2 points 66 percent annually.
Housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuel, which make up one-fourth of the basket’s weight, saw an increase in inflation of 1 point 84 percent (year-over-year) in the previous month.
For the clothing and footwear category, average prices rose 1 point 43% in January. Transportation-related prices increased by 21.53% every year.
According to the PBS, the price of chicken increased dramatically month over month by 24.62 percent, followed by increases in wheat prices by 16.47 percent, rice prices by 14.16 percent, and onions by nearly 10 percent. In addition, within a 2 to 5 percent range, fresh milk, eggs, and fruits and vegetables prices increased in the previous month.
The average inflation rate for the first seven months (July to January) of the current fiscal year was 25 point 4 percent, according to PBS.
 repoeted consumer prices increased by 27.6% in January 2023 compared to a 13.0% in January 2022.){kind=link}