ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance and Revenue, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh Monday directed to constitute a committee that shall come up with an action plan, after taking on board, all the relevant stakeholders to further reduce the prices of sugar and edible oil.
The finance minister gave this direction while chairing the weekly meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) to review the price trend of essential commodities especially wheat, sugar, and edible oil, in the light of the briefing by the finance secretary.
The meeting was informed that there was a decline in the Consumer Price Index recorded at eight percent in December 2020 as compared to 12.6 percent for the same month, a year ago.
The meeting also noted a decline in food inflation as urban food inflation declined by 2.1 percent and the rural declined by 3.4 percent on month-on-month basis.
The NPMC was also informed that there is a decline in the weekly Sensitive Price Index by 0.7 percent.
Prices of 10 essential food commodities were reduced, notably, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and chicken.
The finance minister stated that decline in prices of essential items was a positive sign, and attributed it as outcome of vigilant monitoring under the NPMC on a weekly basis.
However, the finance minister emphasised an increased coordination among the federal and the provincial authorities to identify demand supply gaps, and take immediate remedial measures to ensure uninterrupted supply of items of daily use at affordable prices as the meeting observed price variation in wheat flour in Sindh and Balochistan provinces, which was reflected in the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data.
Hafeez Shaikh directed the chief secretaries to regulate smooth supply of wheat throughout the province by increasing daily release, if needed, and submit a comprehensive report in the next NPMC meeting accordingly.
He urged the provincial secretaries to check the possibilities of hoarding and black marketing especially wheat and sugar to ensure uninterrupted provision at fair prices.
Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar updated the NPMC about measures being taken to further reduce the prices of sugar and edible oil in consultation with the stakeholders.
The finance minister directed to constitute a committee, headed by the Minister for Industries and Production, with the secretary MNFS&R and relevant stakeholders as members to come up with a concerted course of action in that regard.
The finance minister stressed the need for effective functioning of all federal and provincial authorities to monitor the demand supply position across the country for provision of daily use items to the general public at affordable rates.
Minister for Industries and Production, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textiles and Investment, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue, Provincial Chief Secretaries, Secretary Ministry of National Food Security and Research (NFS&R), Special Secretary Commerce, Chairman FBR, Additional Secretary Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Member CCP, Chairman TCP, MD Passco, MD Utility Store Corporation, Member National Accounts, and senior officers of the Finance Division, participated in the meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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