PBIF Proposes Digital Dashboard to Fight Food Inflation in Pakistan

The Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) has urged the government to develop a digital dashboard to monitor essential commodity stocks and market trends. President Mian Zahid Hussain emphasized that real-time data on supply, demand, and price movements could help combat hoarding, artificial shortages, and inflation in food prices.

Hussain highlighted the need for better coordination between federal and provincial governments to manage food inflation effectively. He recommended investments in storage facilities, cold-chain infrastructure, transportation, and market systems to reduce food waste and improve supply-chain efficiency.

Citing data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for September 2026, Hussain noted that consumer inflation was at 10.3% year-on-year, down from 11.1% in August, with a 1.3% month-on-month increase. Key inflation drivers included electricity charges (up 32.46%), motor fuel (up 37.73%), wheat (up 40.96%), and wheat flour (up 31.71%). The Wholesale Price Index inflation stood at 13.3%.

Hussain attributed inflationary pressures to global petroleum price volatility due to the US-Iran war, as well as financial losses at state-owned enterprises and utilities. He advocated for energy-sector reforms and stable tariff frameworks to ease production, export, and investment planning challenges. He also praised the prime minister’s petrol subsidy for low-income consumers and called for additional measures to lower the cost of essential goods.