Pakistan ranks 2nd in food inflation after Sri Lanka in South Asia

• Pakistan had the second-highest consumer price inflation for food items in South Asia.
• In Pakistan, the cost of wheat flour reached all-time highs in January 2023.
• The FAO blames the high prices on a number of factors.

Pakistan had the second-highest consumer price inflation for food items in South Asia, after Sri Lanka (54.4%), at 45.1% on an annual basis in February 2023, according to the World Bank.

The domestic grain and wheat flour prices in South Asia are still quite volatile at the beginning of 2023 and higher than they were a year ago, according to the Bank’s most recent “Food Security Report”.

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In Pakistan, the cost of wheat flour reached all-time highs in January 2023, rising by 20 to 140% year over year.

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) blames the high prices on a number of factors, including largely stagnant production since 2018, stock losses, slowed trade flows because of the floods in 2022, high input and transportation costs for agriculture, and high headline inflation.

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Consumer price inflation for food items was 6.2% in India, 7.8% in Bangladesh, and 5.6% in Nepal in January 2023, according to the study.