Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin, has stated that the government will soon introduce and enforce a whistleblower law against those hoarding different commodities as it is committed to curbing hoarding.
The Advisor presided over the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) meeting held at the Finance Division on Wednesday. The NPMC reviewed the prices of wheat, sugar, pulses, chicken, and other essential food items in the country.
Secretary Finance briefed the NPMC on the weekly sensitive price index (SPI) situation which, he said, had increased by 1.81 percent in the last week. He said the prices of six essential commodities recorded a decline, whereas the prices of 15 items remained stable in the week.
He said the prices of moong pulse and onion registered a decline in the week. To this, the NPMC emphasized the need for building strategic reserves of moong and providing incentives to farmers to domestically produce maash pulse to lessen the import dependence.
According to Secretary Finance, the prices of wheat flour bags remained consistent at Rs. 1,100 per 20 kg due to the proactive measures of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments and the ICT administration. The Advisor Finance commended the efforts of the governments of Punjab and KP and the Islamabad administration.
However, he expressed concerns over the significant difference in prices of wheat flour in Sindh and Balochistan as compared to other provinces. He urged the Chief Secretaries of Sindh and Balochistan to increase the daily releases of wheat to improve the supply situation in the markets and make efforts to bring the prices of wheat down.
Chief Secretary Sindh briefed the NPMC that the government of Sindh was taking all possible measures to control the price of wheat in the province by timely releasing the stocks.
Secretary Ministry of National Food Security & Research briefed the NPMC on the sufficient availability of wheat stock with the provinces and Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO).
Secretary Finance informed the committee that the prices of sugar were easing out in Punjab, KP, and Islamabad due to the start of crop crushing in addition to the proactive measures taken by the government. Tarin expressed concerns over the high prices of sugar at the retail level in Sindh and Balochistan despite the start of crushing.
Secretary Ministry of Industries and Production informed the meeting that sugar mills in Sindh and Punjab had started production, hence with the arrival of new stocks of sugar in the market, the prices would decline in the coming days.
About the prices of edible oil, the NMPC observed that the increase in prices of edible oil in the global market had affected the local prices, while the seasonal factor had affected the prices of chicken and eggs. The meeting took notice of the high prices of vegetable ghee at Sasta Bazaars in KP and directed the Chief Secretary KP to take necessary corrective measures to ease out prices. Besides, the Advisor urged the Federal Board of Revenue to effectively accelerate the monitoring of supply side of edible oil to keep the prices stable.
Observing the shortage of fertilizers stock, the Advisor directed the provincial governments to take strict actions against fertilizer hoarders and prevent the shortage.
The NPMC observed that Sasta and Sahulat Bazaars in Punjab were offering essential goods at subsidized prices. The Advisor commended the efforts of the government of Punjab and Islamabad administration for providing key items at discounted prices through the Bazaars.
Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research, Syed Fakhar Imam, Federal Secretaries, Chairperson Competition Commission of Pakistan, Managing Director Utility Stores Corporation, Chairman Trading Corporation of Pakistan, Chief Secretaries, Chief Statistician Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, and other senior officers attended the meeting.
Source: Pro Pakistani