Of all the economic challenges Pakistan is facing, high inflation remains the most crucial for the public. With the bulk of increase in headline inflation being fed by consistently surging food and energy prices, it is believed that the present government’s policies and poor governance are to blame for the crisis. Food inflation has shot up by 12.6pc in the first four months of the present fiscal. The impact of the upward adjustments in fuel and power tariffs is equally pronounced on the life of the average Pakistani.
However, the government is adamant that many sectors are flourishing in the face of the falling economy. Mr. Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, in his recent tweet stated that
“Textile exports are nearing the target of $20 billion. Record harvest of 9 million tons of rice, the export value has reached export of $4.75 billion. Prices of sugar, tomatoes, and onions are constantly falling. It is sad that the media doesn’t highlight such news claiming a lack of public interest, which is illogical.”
A careful analysis of the data provided by the government shows that some of the claims made by the FMIB aren’t true. For instance, Pakistan’s textile exports surged to an all-time high of $6.04 billion in the first four months (July-October) of this fiscal year (2021-22) led by value-added sector. But despite a significant increase in Pakistan’s textile exports, the target of $20bn is still quite far.
Fortunately, the claims of the minister about the status of rice sector were true, as announced by the Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (NFS&R), Mr. Fakhar Imam on November 29, 2021. Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, he said that record rice production of nine million ton this year has endowed the country to earn 4.75 billion dollars from its exports.
As far as the prices of daily use commodities especially edibles including sugar, tomatoes, onions, and other daily-use essentials are concerned, there is no denying the fact that the government regulated wholesale price for these items at which the distributors and traders get them is low, but there is no check on the prices they charge from grass-root consumers. Hence a low government price doesn’t necessarily ensure a low consumer price, and thus inflation prevails in the actual market places of the country.
It is not the first time that public representatives have shown careless attitude towards public’s concerns and problems. The unnecessary comparisons of domestic food and energy prices with regional economies as India and Bangladesh by government officials in the past showed a total lack of empathy with the people. All arguments put forward and comparisons made by government functionaries are nothing but a vain attempt to obfuscate the reality and shift the responsibility for their own flawed policies onto others.
It is critical that the government representatives keep in mind that inflation and commodity price hike is a highly sensitive matter in the current time, and an empathetic approach must be adopted while using public platforms, as their words have a deep impact on public sentiments and even increases their grievances. Moreover, instead of making wordy promises, the government should try to mitigate public concerns through public delivery, because actions speak louder than words.
