While taking cognisance of shooting up of prices of steel billets and other products, the government has convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday to look into the causes of price hike.
Minister for Industries and Production Liaqat Ali Jatoi will chair the meeting.
The main objective of the meeting would be to identify the reasons of irrational increase in steel products prices and take immediate measures to bring them down to stabilise the market.
CBR Chairman Riaz Malik, Pakistan Steel Chairman General Abdul Qayyum and senior officials of Ministries of Finance, Industries and Production, and other stakeholders who are directly or indirectly related to this industry will attend the meeting.
All Pakistan Contractors Association (Apca) Chairman Engineer Sikander Hayat Khattak's spontaneous reaction on the convening of the meeting to review the situation arising out of increasing steel products prices was enough to indicate the pain being felt by his fellow contractors.
He said "Thank God! The Minister for Industries and Production has taken notice of the killing situation caused by the irrational increase in steel and its products prices."
Apca Secretary General Younis Khan said that steel prices have gone up by 290 percent in last one year. He argued that none of steel-related activity could continue if the upward trend continued in such a manner.
Khalid Javed, an Islamabad-based steel miller, termed the meeting as a ray of hope.
He told this correspondent that recent jump in billet bloom had brought sale of iron at standstill.