The higher prices has sharply reduced the purchasing power of commoners, the hardest hit segment of the society. On the other hand the unemployment rate is also showing rising trend which multiplies the suffering of poorest of the country. According to the official data the unemployment rate stands at 6 percent. The unemployment rate among male population is particularly on the rise as out of every hundred males 5.1 are unemployed. Apart from rising prices of commodities growing unemployment is also adding to the miseries of already suffering class which needs to be address on priority bases.
Volatility, According to the WB, which is higher in low income countries, is expected to persist in the medium term due to multiple global and domestic factors. Structural factors contributing to the volatility include rising populations and changing diets, increasingly intertwined relations between food and energy prices, and increasing production of biofuels.
On the other hand, a favorable outlook on supply and stocks is likely to relieve some of the pressure on global food prices. Latest forecasts show global wheat stocks reaching a 10-year high in 2011-12, global production of maize to rise by 4 percent from increased production in Argentina, Brazil, China, Russia, and Ukraine. Global rice output is also likely to get a boost in 2011-12 due to an expected bumper harvest in India following very favorable monsoon rains. While a troubled global economy could dampen demand and push food prices down, the effect on developing countries would be mixed-hurting food exporting countries and poor producers in rural areas, and benefiting food importers and consumers. The problem, Food Price Watch warns, is that developing countries might have now limited resources to protect vulnerable populations following the economic crisis and stimulus spending.In addition, fears associated with the global economy may affect medium to long-term investments in agricultural research and more productive agricultural techniques, especially amid persistent volatility.
Keeping in view the global scenario of food prices the government of Pakistan may take some steps to prevent its population, especially the poor, from external and internal price shocks in future.