Based on data provided by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Food and other public sector organisations, the Planning Commission has noted that “given the continued sharp increase in prices of staple, mainly wheat, vegetable ghee and sugar, during the second half of 2010, and follow up in the first half of 2011, the number of people suffering from chronic hunger is likely to have increased further”.
The cost of 2,150 calories, needed to keep the body and soul together, increased from Rs960 to Rs1,670, a hike of 74 per cent. The report said the price of wheat flour increased by 78pc in three years and of sugar by 163pc.
The prices of meat, pulses and milk went up by 103pc, 89pc and 85pc, respectively. A comparatively low increase was witnessed in prices of rice, 44pc, vegetable ghee, 66pc, and vegetables 39pc.
General estimates suggest an additional five per cent per year increase in the number of undernourished people over the national estimates of the proportion of the undernourished in 2009 to 2011. Much of this is attributed to increase in food prices.
“Therefore, estimated proportion of undernourished children will be around 50pc as of 2011,” added the commission in its annual report on change in the cost of food basket 2010-11.
It said the overall consumption estimates during the recent past had shown a decline from 1,900 calories to 1,600 calories, implying that the millennium development goals on hunger and malnutrition envisaged at 20pc in 2015 against the prevalent estimate of 40pc is becoming a challenge and there are clear signs that the target will be missed.
“Given the national scenario, conventionally agreed key risk factors underlying causes of vulnerability, such as poverty hunger, income inequality and now food price have added new dimensions to vulnerability,” said the planning commission.
Pakistan suffers from high rates of childhood malnutrition and appears to have made little progress over the last two decades in addressing the issue, “with 38 per cent of under five children being underweight and 12 per cent severely underweight”.
The report indicated interesting changes in the essential food basket.
It said energy intake declined from 1,900 calories in 2001-02 to 1,650 in 2007-08, the calories availability steadily increased to the level of 2,590 in 2010-11 from the consumption level of 1,650 in 2007-08. The pricing had the most devastating impact.
The price of wheat, major food staple accounting for 60pc of the poor’s energy consumption, registered an increase of 200pc between 2000 and 2011 and that of vegetable ghee by 227pc.
The prices of gram and sugar had an irregular increasing trend, with an overall increase of 133pc and 174pc, respectively.
The price of wheat increased from Rs10 per kg in 2000-2001 to Rs30 per kg in 2010-11.
Within the overall affected households, those headed by women suffer more from rising food prices in terms of declining food consumption.
Such households tend to spend a larger proportion of income on food than men-headed households and thus they are hit harder by the impact of high food prices on consumption.
The commission said that household food insecurity remained a major cause of under-nutrition affecting large sections of the population in Pakistan. Therefore, public distributions system and related income transfer schemes must act as an instrument to reduce chronic malnutrition and household food insecurity.
