ECC forms body to overcome wheat shortage: tax-free mineral oil import allowed

The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, which met here on Tuesday with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in the chair, allowed import of mineral oil without any charge of customs duty and sales tax. However, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Ministry of Agriculture (Minfal) will work out modalities vis-à-vis the use of imported material.
The proposal for the import of mineral oil was initiated by Minfal in view of the attack of white fly and mealy bug on cotton crop. The ECC also constituted a committee, headed by Finance Minister and comprising representatives of Punjab, NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan, to overcome shortage of wheat. The committee will also work out the disbursement of 2.5 million tons imported wheat to ensure availability of ''atta'' at prices based on parity throughout the country.
The meeting, which was also attended by Punjab Governor and Chief Minister, constituted a committee comprising Ministers for Law, Finance, and Water and Power, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman and Nepra Chairman, to review the whole issue of KESC and make necessary recommendations to improve its productivity and distribution for the benefit of the people in Karachi and surrounding areas, said Federal Minister Khurshid Shah while talking to Business Recorder.
He said that the ECC also approved the summary of Ministry of Petroleum about revised criteria of gas extension to new towns and villages falling in the vicinity of gas fields, like Punjab and Sindh, 13.5 kilometres each, NWFP 27 km and Balochistan 67 km. He said that the decision would benefit the people. About any relief to the textile sector, Khurshid said that the Cabinet would be meeting in Lahore on Wednesday also in which the issue would be taken up.
State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Shamshad Akhter apprised the meeting about the economic challenges being faced by the country, and emphasised that time had come to cut down overspending by both private and public sectors. The ECC was informed that the overall CPI-based inflation registered an increase in the month of June 2008 which was not peculiar to Pakistan, as many other developing countries around the world were facing similar price hikes in recent months. The prices of pulses, with the exception of Masoor, however, remained stable.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif assured the ECC that his government would reach out to meet the food requirements of the people in NWFP, Balochistan and Sindh. The ECC also approved fixation of CNG consumer prices by Ogra and readjustment of gas tariff for captive power producers from 68 percent to 31 percent.
The ECC also approved that loans given to Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC) should be converted into equity of the government in the same organisation. The matter of increasing subsidy on DAP fertiliser from Rs 32 billion to Rs 100 billion was also handed over to the Minister of Finance.