ISLAMABAD, April 30 On an average every Pakistani family spent Rs8,583 on items of daily use in April, according to the first household expenditure pattern study carried out by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen).

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the average family expenditure on essential items was Rs9.515, in Balochistan Rs9,287, in Sindh Rs8,028 and in Punjab Rs7,951.

The study documented the impact on average household budgets of price variations of 70 food and non-food items, including monthly house rent, medicines, POL products and toiletries.

The study was based on data gathered from 150 places in the four provinces, Fata and Islamabad capital territory.

Fafen's programme officer Rashid Chaudhry said the survey was a part of the network's 'democratic process monitoring' programme. He said that credibility of the government-sponsored Pakistan Household Integrated Economic Survey was suspect and there was a need for an independent source for similar data on average household expenditures.

According to the survey, a typical Pakistani family of 6.5 members (average) spent Rs3,926 (46 per cent) on nine basic commodities -- flour, potato, rice, sugar, vegetable ghee, onions, fresh milk, tea and kerosene.

“Almost half of an average family's budget is spent on basic commodities which undermines the ability of a household to spend on other items that will enhance quality of living,” the study said.

The highest share of basic commodities in average household expenditure was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where every family had to spend Rs4,685 (49 per cent) on basic items, followed by Balochistan Rs4,489 (48 per cent), Punjab Rs3,763 (47 per cent) and Sindh Rs3,717 (46 per cent).

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, prices of five items -- rice, fresh milk, tea, onions, and wheat -- were higher than other provinces.

In Balochistan, prices of onions, sugar, rice and potatoes were higher than the national average. Prices in these two provinces of wheat flour, onions, sugar and rice were higher than the national average.

While the prices of vegetable oil were higher in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, fresh milk and tea fetched the highest price in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, kerosene in Sindh and potato in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. While the prices of potato were lower than the national average in Punjab, rice, vegetable ghee and onions fetched the lowest price in Sindh.

Fresh milk was lower than the national average in Punjab, tea in Sindh and kerosene cost less than the average in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.