In an unexpected move, the Pakistan government on Wednesday, June 1, hiked the rates of ghee and cooking oil by Rs 208 and Rs 213 respectively. The rates came into force on the day amid fears of an economic crisis, which comes at a time when the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka has been facing a similar calamity for months. The latest announcement by the Pakistan government shook the entire country, which is already reeling from an imminent economic crisis.
With this hike, the price of edible oil and ghee will hit an all-time high of Rs 555 per kg and Rs 605 per liter, which was Rs 540-560 per liter, an official of Utility Stores Corporation (USC) told ANI. Dawn, Pakistan’s leading newspaper in the retail market, without giving reasons for the sudden move, said, “USC had issued notification of this steep jump in the rates of ghee and cooking oil with effect from 1st June.” Oil and ghee prices in Pakistan have increased by 300 percent in the past three months, and exceeded the ceiling with Indonesia’s palm oil export ban.
According to a Dawn report quoting Pakistan Vegetable Manufacturers Association (PVMA) general secretary Umar Islam Khan, the retail prices of ghee and cooking oil will soon come down to USC, with USC rates soon lower. USC, a state-owned firm, operates across Pakistan to provide goods at subsidized rates to citizens.
Khan said manufacturers of cooking oil and ghee have stopped giving products on credit to USC as the corporation has not paid dues of Rs 2-3 billion to the manufacturers, reported ANI.
Pakistan rupee at lowest level in May
According to a Bloomberg report, the Pakistani rupee is set for its biggest monthly fall in two years amid uncertainty over the International Monetary Fund’s bailout plan and rising finances. The Pakistani rupee depreciated 7 per cent in May, its sharpest fall since March 2020, as the country struggles to keep its economy on track while negotiating bailout packages with the IMF and other countries. Used to be.
“Pakistan is to repay USD 21 billion in foreign debt in the next financial year, hence it is necessary to enter into the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program (worth USD 6 billion) to arrange necessary financing,” ANI reported. Quoting the Finance Minister Miftah Ismail is saying.
Ismail said Pakistan would need $36 billion to $37 billion in funding for the fiscal year beginning June. The country’s international bonds have lost a third of their value, with the country yet to have a bailout agreement with the IMF. The minister said that Pakistan is not in a position to raise foreign debt and the only way out of it is to control inflation. While this does not look like a likely scenario in the immediate future, the government has announced sharp price hikes in basic commodities.
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