Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr. Shaukat Tarin, chaired a meeting to review the methodology of price collection by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar, SAPM on Political Communication Dr. Shahbaz Gill, Chief Statistician Naeem-uz-Zafar, Secretary Planning, Member PBS, Assistant Commissioner Islamabad, Economic Adviser and other senior officers participated in the meeting.
Chief Statistician gave an overview about the price collection methodology by PBS. He explained in detail about the price indicators, periodicity and number of markets covered while calculating weekly and monthly price statistics i.e. SPI and CPI respectively.
In his remarks, the Finance Minister stressed upon the need to review the PBS’s methodology by incorporating the consumption patterns across different cities objectively. He further directed to give due weightage to the markets (both in urban and rural areas) rationally. There is a need to present a holistic picture of price trend of essential commodities for accurate planning. The calculation of SPI and CPI must be true barometers of inflation. Criteria for selection of baskets of goods and services along with cities for calculating SPI and CPI were also discussed during the meeting.
The Finance Minister recommended to conduct mystery shopping and collect prices from different markets randomly. He also suggested to widen the coverage by including Saasta Sahulat Bazars and Utility Stores to capture an accurate picture of prevailing market prices.
While speaking on the occasion, the Federal Minister for Planning stressed upon the need to follow best international practices and present a well-rounded proposal including diversity of approaches for price calculation in the next meeting for further deliberations.
*-*-*-*-*-*
