Tarin asks to stabilise supplies, prices of wheat, sugar

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin on Wednesday directed Sindh and Balochistan chief secretaries to increase daily releases of wheat and asked all provinces to inject imported sugar in the markets to stabilise supply and prices of the two commodities.

He was presiding over the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) meeting held at the Finance Division.

Secretary finance briefed the NPMC about the weekly sensitive price indicator (SPI) which went up 0.67 percent during the week ended November 4, 2021.

Reviewing the price trend of essential commodities, the secretary apprised the NPMC that prices of three essential commodities registered decline, whereas prices of 20 items remained the same during the last week. As per PBS data, prices of 28 commodities increased during the week under review.

In Punjab, due to the proactive measures of the provincial government and ICT administration, wheat flour bags remained consistent at Rs1,100/20kg, the secretary added.

Tarin commended the efforts of the representatives of the Punjab government and Islamabad administration and expressed concern over significant price differential in wheat flour prices in Sindh and Balochistan, as compared to other provinces.

He advised the provincial chief secretaries of Sindh and Balochistan to increase the daily releases of wheat to improve the supply situation in the markets. He reiterated the firm commitment of the government to ensure smooth supply of wheat flour across the country at government specified rate.

Reviewing the price of sugar in the country, the secretary finance informed that prices were easing out in Punjab due to proactive measures of the government.

Tarin directed all provinces to meet their stocks by immediately lifting the imported sugar and injecting it into the market to bring down the prices.

While reviewing the price trend of basic commodities, Tarin said that the government has taken a range of administrative and policy measures, and by managing supply and demand chain, the prices of daily commodities were controlled as compared to the last year.

The NPMC observed that Sastaa Sahulat Bazaars in Punjab were offering essential goods at subsidised prices. Again, Tarin commended the efforts of the representatives of the Punjab and Islamabad administration in providing key items at discounted prices through arranging Sastaa Bazaars.

“The government will continue to take all possible measures to ensure smooth supply of essential commodities throughout the country,” he concluded.

The high level meeting was attended by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib, and Adviser to PM on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood. Others present were federal secretaries, provincial chief secretaries, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics chief statistician, Federal Board of Revenue chairman, Utility Stores MD and senior officers.