ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has said that the government is taking all possible measures to ensure the smooth supply of essential commodities throughout the country.
He was chairing the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) meeting which reviewed the prices of daily commodities and essential food items in the country.
The secretary Finance briefed the NPMC about the weekly SPI situation which has decreased by 0.07 per cent during the week under review. He added that prices of nine essential commodities had registered a decline, the prices of 23 items remained stable during the last week, while prices of 19 essential commodities recorded a slight upward trend.
He further told the meeting that the prices of wheat flour bags remained consistent at Rs1,100 per 20 kg due to proactive measures of the Punjab and KP governments, and ICT administration.
“The daily release of wheat by all the provincial governments will further ease out wheat prices at national level,” he added.
Tarin appreciated the Sindh government’s efforts and stressed the availability of wheat flour at government prices in Karachi and Hyderabad.    Â
While reviewing the price of sugar in the country, the secretary Finance informed that new stocks of sugar are arriving in the market which will further reduce the prices.
The advisor expressed satisfaction over the stability in the sugar prices in the market.
The TCP chairman gave a presentation on the various options for availability of imports of edible oil at low prices. The meeting noted the price difference between both the categories and directed the authorities concerned to remove the anomalies to ensure supply of edible oil at reasonable prices.
While reviewing the production of pulses in the country, it was informed that prices of pulses have shown slight increase in the week under review.
The finance adviser directed the Ministry of National Food Security & Research to monitor the movement of international prices of pulses and plan imports accordingly to avoid a price hike in the country.
The adviser also directed all provincial chief secretaries to keep a check on the undue price hike of milk.Â
