Consumer prices rose by 14.6 percent year on year in January, the highest annual rate since December 2010. The high inflation rate was mainly driven by the significant increases in food prices, including wheat, pulses and sugar, particularly in rural areas. An additional factor that contributed to the rise in prices was the near-20 percent increase in transportation costs. Prices of wheat flour, the key food staple, started to increase in the last months of 2019, reaching record or near-record highs in January (FPMA Price Warning). On 20 January, in an effort to ease the supply pressure and curb the rising prices of wheat, the government approved the importation of 300 000 tonnes of wheat and waived the regulatory duties for this quantity. As a further effort to keep inflation in check, the government approved a PKR 15 billion (USD 97 million) relief package to sell food products at subsidized prices through the state-owned Utility Stores Corporation (USC). This measure follows a PKR 7 billion (USD 45 million) package already approved in early January to be used to subsidize retail food prices. In addition, loans have been provided to facilitate the opening of an additional 50 000 USC stores across the country, while price hikes on gas and electricity were rejected. Amid this sharp uptick in prices, a locust infestation, the worst in several years, is threatening the agriculture sector in eastern parts of the country. In response, the government declared a national emergency on 31 January and approved a National Action Plan (NAP) to tackle the locust outbreak, which will cost PKR 7.3 billion (USD 47 million).