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‘Sugar cartel will not be able to raise prices anymore’: Difficult days over, says PM Imran Khan

PM Imran Khan said Pakistan’s stock market was the best in Asia and rupee had also been stabilised without injecting dollars into the market, which meant the economy was in a good condition

By Our Correspondent
November 13, 2020

‘Sugar cartel will not be able to raise prices anymore’: Difficult days over, says PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that in future there would be no crisis of sugar and wheat, as comprehensive planning has been thrashed out in this regard.

The prime minister said exports had increased by 24 percent, no addition was made to loans during the last four months and Pakistan’s current account had gone surplus in the last quarter after 17 years.

Addressing the New Pakistan Certificate (NPC) launching ceremony here, the prime minister said he was proud that due to the government efforts on economic reforms, the current account had gone into surplus, billing it a great achievement. He pointed out that Pakistan’s stock market was the best in Asia and rupee had also been stabilised without injecting dollars into the market, which meant the economy was in a good condition and the indicators were positive. There were two challenges i.e. food inflation, which was also being witnessed in India, and the situation related to wheat and sugar. The PM, however, said in categorical terms that in future there would be no such situation in relation to sugar and wheat. He noted that two wheat crops were below estimates due to climate change, as rains were received at the wrong time and that affected the supply chain.

‘Sugar cartel will not be able to raise prices anymore’: Difficult days over, says PM Imran Khan. -PID.

Regarding sugar, he said that unfortunately, there was cartelisation in this industry, as pinpointed by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) in its findings that the mills owners would join hands to increase the sugar rates. “I assure the nation that there will be no such situation in future,” he said.

About the government policies during the last over two years, he explained that, among other things, they focused on improving the export industry. Likewise, he said, owing to various incentives, remittances had been increased as well, showing confidence in the government policies.

The premier said that with great difficulty, the financial discipline was achieved but a very difficult time also came, when the economy was squeezed, owing to such a big imbalance with current account deficit at $20 billion and his government also had to face fiscal deficit. Because of that, half of the tax revenue would go into paying loans and interests thereon. However, now, he noted, the biggest happiness was position of the current account, as if it was imbalanced, it meant more dollars were going out of the country and the rupee was under immense pressure.

Imran Khan said the current account surplus was also due to the decline in imports and that this positive development needed to be taken forward and in this regard, the New Pakistan Certificate initiative would play a very important role. The PM said the government would try further to convince and persuade the Pakistanis living abroad to keep their money in Pakistan, as according to an estimate, they had money abroad almost equal to Pakistan’s GDP.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Imran Khan urged overseas Pakistanis to invest in their country and earn good return, besides strengthening the national economy. In this context, he asked the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to devise new product to attract overseas Pakistanis to invest in the country.

He said overseas Pakistanis have proved their mettle in every field .The PM said, “We can convince overseas Pakistanis to invest their dollars in Pakistan by providing enabling environment and facilitation”.

Half of the tax revenue, he pointed out goes to paying instalments of loans and interests, and if overseas Pakistanis transfer their money to Pakistan through New Pakistan Certificate, the country would benefit a lot and they would also on the basis of incentives. He asked the SBP governor to consider more steps to attract overseas Pakistanis to bring their money to the country.

The PM quoted Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the context of primary balance that we should not pay more interest while imports had also been curtailed. He claimed that if the debt burden of the previous governments had not been borne, the country would have been moving in the right direction economically.

Paying homage to Dr Hafeez Shaikh and his team, the PM said it was a great achievement that the debt had not increased in the last four months and the record sales of cement show that our construction industry had grown exponentially and the related industries also benefited from it. Likewise, he said, motorbike and car sales had gone significantly up while textile industry in Faisalabad was in full swing and it was witnessing shortage of labour.

Earlier, separately, Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered for finalising incentives for setting up special technology zones to attract foreign investment. Chairing a meeting here, he said many talented overseas Pakistanis are also interested to invest in the sector.

The PM emphasised that Pakistan had immense potential in the IT sector, which needs to be optimally tapped for fulfilling the country's domestic requirements as well as exporting IT-related products. He said young Pakistani population will get maximum advantage from promoting the neglected IT sector of the country.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan directed that the government permits and other related procedures should not be delayed unnecessarily and the process of approvals should be made easier for investors.

He also emphasised that the increase in construction activities would accelerate economic activity, adding the government's focus was on creating facilities for investors in every sector. The prime minister said this while chairing the weekly meeting of the National Coordinating Committee for Housing, Construction and Development.

The meeting was informed that a mechanism has been worked out for early supply of gas and electricity to the construction projects. The Surveyor General of Pakistan briefed the meeting on cadastral mapping (showing the extent, value, and ownership of land, especially for taxation). .

The meeting was informed that mapping is underway in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Nowshera and other districts. The move will prove real ownership of the land and help eliminate illegal occupation and encroachment.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan tweeted that the country is moving in the right direction despite the COVID-19 challenge. “Masha Allah the country is moving in the right direction despite the COVID-19 challenge,” the prime minister said in a tweet and also uploaded a clip regarding the complete revival of the textile industry after 1990. It also noted that the textile industry was getting a big number of orders from abroad and facing shortage of over 200,000 workers.

Moreover, more than 50,000 power looms, which were closed due to the crisis, had resumed operations.