Minister stresses commodities’ reserves to control prices

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Thursday underscored the importance of building strategic reserves of key commodities to eliminate undue profit margins and stabilise prices of the items of daily use.

In a meeting with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Food Security Jamshed Iqbal, Tarin also desired to utilise his expertise to effectively control prices of essential food items on a regular basis to provide maximum relief to the general public.

Tarin reiterated the firm commitment of the government to provide essential food items at affordable prices to the consumers throughout the country. The government is encouraging imports of sugar and wheat to reduce the gap between demand and supply.

The agriculture transformation plan was also discussed which is being introduced to shift conventional agriculture to the next level i.e. commercial agriculture aimed at boosting agricultural productivity in the country.

The finance minister stressed the need to involve all the relevant stakeholders for successful implementation of the proposed agriculture transformation plan. He also assured his full support and facilitation on the occasion.

Iqbal said the agriculture transformation plan will promote agri-business, attract investment from the private sector, reduce post-harvest losses, add value to local agricultural produce, develop rural infrastructure and enhance access to micro credit for farmers.

The government allocated Rs41.3 billion for agriculture sector interventions for the current fiscal year that are expected to bring double-digit increase yields of major crops.

Of the total allocations, Rs21.3 billion is for development and Rs20 billion for non-development expenditures. The allocation, under the agriculture transformation plan, aimed at improving warehousing with Rs8 billion spending, genetic improvement in cattle projects (Rs1.1bln), revision for mechanisation (Rs1.2bln), shrimp farming (Rs1bln), construction of silos (Rs5bln), fertiliser subsidy (Rs12bln) and cotton procurement by Trading Corporation of Pakistan (Rs9bln), according to an official document. The proposed interventions are expected to increase wheat yields by 41 percent, rice (40pc), cotton (65pc), maize (40pc), sugarcane (22pc) and other crops (30pc).

Currently, average yield per acre for wheat in Pakistan is 29 maunds compared to 51 maunds in India. Likewise, the average yields of rice (50 maunds) and sugarcane (656 maunds) are lower than 64 and 796 in India, according to the document. For maize per acre yield is 57 maunds compared to 42, while cotton yield per acre is the same an average 18 maunds.