ISLAMABAD: The National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) has expressed deep concern over the significant price differential in the key commodities namely wheat flour and sugar in different provinces of the country.
The matter was discussed in the NPMC meeting held under the chair of Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin here on Wednesday. Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research Syed Fakhar Imam, federal secretaries, deputy commissioner Islamabad, provincial chief secretaries, managing director USCs, chief statistician, and other senior officers participated in the meeting.
The secretary M/o NFS&R updated the meeting about sufficient availability of wheat flour across the country, adding that the stock will last long before the arrival of a fresh crop.
However, the NPMC expressed concern over the significant price differential in key commodities in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as compared to the other provinces.
Tarin advised the provincial representative of the Sindh government to expedite the process of daily releases of wheat at the price determined by the government to ease out pressure on prices. He also directed the Punjab chief secretary to provide sugar to KP government in order to stabilise prices of sugar in the province.
The NPMC urged the government of Sindh to finalise the indicative price of sugarcane at the earliest.
The meeting observed that Sastaa Sahulat Bazars in Punjab are offering essential goods at subsidised prices and urged the Sindh and KP to make similar requisite arrangements to ensure smooth supply of essential commodities at fair prices throughout the country.
Furthermore, the meeting was briefed about the year-on-year (YoY) and month-on-month (MoM) inflation indicators.
Shaukat Tarin said that there was a minimal increase in the YoY CPI which stood at 9.2 per cent compared to 8.9pc last year, due to the rise in international prices of food commodities and crude oil.
“The government has made all-out efforts to absorb the bulk of the hike in international prices by providing direct food subsidies on wheat flour, sugar and pulse,” he added.
The meeting also noted a significant decrease in YoY prices of seasonal vegetables. The price of onions is currently Rs47 per kg compared to Rs74 per kg last year, while the price of tomatoes is Rs104 per kilo whereas it was Rs198 per kilo last year.
However, there was a week-on-week (WoW) increase in price of seasonal vegetables including potatoes, tomatoes in Punjab due to supply side disruptions caused by the bloodshed and blockades by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
