Government has sufficient sugar stocks: Salman

PM''s Adviser on finance Dr Salman Shah has said the government has sufficient sugar stock, but it may import the commodity to stabilise the local market prices while the private sector is also free to import on their own.
He told reporters after he addressed a two-day national conference on "Technology up-gradation in industry - key to high value addition and growth" at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday. He said the government would disallow increase in the sugar prices and maintain the present level.
"Apart from this, the government will ensure stability of eatable items in Ramazan and improve distribution system to ensure smooth supply in the local market. The government has plans to set up 5,000 utility shops across the country out of which 2,800 have already been set up while their number will be increased to 3,500 before Ramazan," he said.
About the rising prices of cooking and vegetable oils, the adviser said it was because $450-$500 per tonne increase in the veggie prices in international market. He said that price of everything was linked with the oil prices increase internationally but the government would avert international impact on the local market. In his speech earlier to the seminar, Dr Salman said the economy must take precedence over politics, adding that it was time Pakistan made hard choices if it wanted to move ahead.
He said Pakistan was now at the cusp of taking off to benefit from the ongoing process of globalisation because of a huge economic growth experienced over the past seven years.
"Globalisation is very well suited to Pakistan. You can never be a global player unless you participate in global markets," he added. Speaking at length on various issues of economic importance, Dr Salman said: "Pakistan has the potential to become one of the top five markets in the world with sixth biggest population after China, India, US, Russia, and Indonesia."
He also talked about the profiles of markets in the US, the European Union, Japan, China and India, urging the business community to take advantage of opportunities in these regions.