I remember my mother used to say, “Eat a good meal first and then go to the grocery store”. I learnt the sagacity of this the hard way last weekend when my husband escorted me to Hyperstar in the mid afternoon after having just one bowl of soup. He is normally a passive partaker in our hypermarket spree, with his role mainly limited to pushing the cart.
But that day being hungry was the worst thing that happened to our grocery excursion because every aisle just seemed to jump out at us and tried to wiggle out all that money in our pocket. He put everything into the trolley that looked partly tasty, including different brands of potato crisps, two jars of cheese spreads, a large bag of hash browns, a pack of muffins, a tray of assorted bite size pastries and a big loaf of garlic bread. We wanted to eat everything our eyes could see.
Before checkout, my husband and I started guessing the monetary smash up we brought upon ourselves, and the high bid was 7,500 rupees, whereas the total was around 11,000, a huge amount more than we usually spend on groceries for a week. Now, there is no doubt that my husband’s greediness was a major contributor to the total, but after scrutinising the bill we found that we were also victims of sharply higher food prices. The 16-kg ghee in June 2010 was available at Rs1, 800 as compared to the current rate of Rs2, 580. Nido one kg pack now costs Rs540 as compared to Rs460 ahead of last year`s budget. One litre tetra pack milk is now available at Rs76 as compared to Rs62. Fresh milk price has risen to Rs68 as compared to Rs56 per litre. Medium size pack of tea (Lipton Yellow Label) costs Rs125 as compared to Rs114.
The price of beef is now Rs330-340 per kg as compared to Rs240 and Rs300. Mutton price hovers between Rs480-520 per kg compared to Rs420-460.
The reasons for higher prices are many and varied: apart from the overall inflation that has struck Pakistan, government has on several occasions borrowed money from the State Bank of Pakistan and relied on printing currency which is the main cause for hyper inflation in the country. Secondly imports of oil from abroad resulted in inflation because naturally when the international prices of oil and other petroleum commodities went up it automatically had an impact.
I should not forget the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan last year which had adversely impacted the food supply chains. Nearly 17 million acres of cultivated cropland has been lost to floods while the loss of livestock is also in millions. The loss of crops from floods alone caused huge spikes in the price of necessary food items because of uncertainty in the supply of grains, livestock, etc
Now, let us look at the prices of following vegetables which reveals the increase in prices after floods. The price of capsicum before the floods was Rs80 whereas in the preceding week, it was priced at Rs40 indicating a 100 per cent rise, similarly tomatoes after the floods were priced at Rs120 compared to Rs40 in the preceding week and green chillies and lemon costing Rs80 after floods compared to Rs40 in the previous week.
Food inflation on the whole has a subtle influence on personal finances because it is so easy not to notice. But I strongly feel that these days one cannot ignore the impact of food-price inflation, and many of us will aggressively look for local produce; indulge in bulk buying and settle for discount brands. Hypermarkets shopping will be encouraging because they often offer extremely competitive pricing, which is especially helpful for people with a tight household budget. Another money saving technique is avoiding impulse buying, especially when shopping for groceries in the supermarket; we should have a list of things we wish to buy, and once done, head straight to the checkout.
I must admit that since our trip to the store, I have yet to eat one of my costly jars of cheese spread. It is a lesson for all of us, “Eat a good meal first and then go to the grocery store” – especially in times like these.
The writer is a housewife and an eager observer of economic trends and their influence on household budgets
