A meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) has decided that action should be taken against the incidence of cartelization causing undue profiteering and monopolistic practices fueling price hike in the country and also directed Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to take immediate steps to control smuggling in the country, which is creating distortions in the supply and prices of the commodities.
The NPMC meeting chaired by special finance secretary, which met here on Friday to discuss price hike in the country, was informed by the representatives of Ministry of National Food Security and Research that in compliance with the ECC decision, a committee had been constituted to execute the recommendations of Competition Commission of Pakistan to check cartelization, undue profiteering and monopolistic practices in order to control the price hike.
The meeting noted that profit margin between wholesaler and retailer is huge and therefore the provincial governments should take concrete steps to check undue profit margins for the benefit of common man.
The meeting emphasized that the price control committees should be made more proactive to check the general price level at the wholesale and retail levels and undue profiteering in the provinces.
The need was felt to ensure provision of quality items at Sasta/Sunday bazaars to benefit the common man. Utility Stores Corporation was directed to explore the possibility of establishing its outlets in Sasta bazaars to ensure provision of non-perishable items to far-flung areas of the country.
The ICT administration was advised to present a concrete plan for price monitoring mechanism and steps to remove disparity in prices in the Capital area.
The Ministry of National Food Security and Research also informed the meeting that the stocks of wheat/wheat flour are sufficient to meet the domestic demand and the prices of wheat bag and Roti/Naan shall remain stable in the country. However, the Chair noted that the subsidy of Rs 1.5 billion provided to 'Roti Tandoors' has not been translated into provision of cheap Roti to common man and directed provincial governments to take immediate and strict measures to ensure the fair price of Roti for general public.
The meeting discussed the trend of Consumer Price Index, which is a headline measure of inflation, while the urban and rural inflation indexes were also reviewed by the NPMC. It was also informed that the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which monitors the prices of 51 essential items on weekly basis, recorded an increase of 1.01 percent on the week ended on 19.09.2019. The committee also discussed the price movements of these items among the provinces and ICT and observed variations in price level.
The NPMC reviewed the progress on the decisions taken in the last meeting. The Punjab government apprised that in pursuance of NPMC decision they have shared their online market complaints app titled "Qeemat Punjab" which is meant to get hands-on picture of price escalation and overpricing matter, etc, with other provinces to review the possibility of its replication with their existing system.
The ICT administration stated that a new sasta bazaar has been established in Chak Shehzad with 170 stalls functioning 3 days a week. The ICT administration also said that they are establishing seven additional sasta bazaars in union councils to provide essential items at affordable prices.
A sasta bazaar near Metro Cash and Carry with more than 900 stalls will be fully operationalized shortly. Further, they are developing a free home delivery online app to provide essential items to the customers at their doorsteps at affordable prices.
The Sindh government said that they have developed a tab for their chief secretary under "Sindh Performance Management System" for price control functions. All the district officers are required to update the actions taken by them to control the prices in their areas. The KPK government has passed the directions to all the deputy commissioners and Food Department field formations to establish sasta bazaars at district and tehsil level.
The meeting was attended by the representatives of the provincial governments, Islamabad Capital Territory, Cabinet Division, Ministries of Industries, Commerce, National Food Security and Research, and Planning, Development and Reform, Federal Board of Revenue, Inter-Provincial Coordination, Competition Commission of Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and Utility Stores Corporation.
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