THIS refers to the article ‘Policy rate primer’ (May 17), which explained the concept of policy rate quite well, but many observers may not agree with the conclusion that “… high food inflation right now is perhaps a consequence of the authorities taking the sugar millers, flour millers, the middlemen, the retailers, and many other groups head-on without doing their homework.”

I believe the current food inflation is a combination of many government policies, such as devaluation of rupee, lowering of interest rate too quickly by the State Bank of Pakistan, fiscal expansion, etc.

Taking on the so-called ‘food mafia’ without doing the homework by the authorities might have worsened the inflation situation, but that is not the root cause of it.

Ejaz Ahmad Magoon
Lahore

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2021