ECC greenlights wheat import for flour export

Ramzan relief package worth Rs 7.4 billion approved

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) convened on Tuesday and sanctioned the import of wheat with the intention of exporting flour.

The Ministry of Commerce proposed the initiative titled “Permission to Import Wheat and Export of Wheat Flour under Export Facilitation Scheme 2021,” which received unanimous approval from the ECC. The committee further instructed relevant ministries to develop comprehensive proposals to bolster value-added exports.

Chaired by Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, the ECC meeting saw the attendance of various key figures including Minister for Privatization and Inter Provincial Coordination Fawad Hasan Fawad, Minister for Interior, Commerce & Industries Mr. Gohar Ejaz, Minister for Energy and Petroleum Division Mr. Mohammad Ali, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Mr. Sami Saeed, Minister of Maritime Affairs, Communication and Railways Mr. Shahid Ashraf Tarar, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr. Muhammad Jehanzaeb Khan, Advisor to PM on Finance Dr. Waqar Masood, and Federal Secretaries alongside senior government officials.

During the session, a summary from the Ministry of Commerce (Tariff Policy Wing) concerning “Individual Tariff Rationalization Proposals from Different Sectors for Review of Custom Duties” was deliberated upon and approved. The ECC stressed the necessity of coordinating tariff rationalization with the trade policy.

Additionally, the ECC gave the green light to a proposal from the Power Division regarding the “Commissioning of 1263 MW CCPP Punjab Thermal Power (Pvt) Limited, Jhang (PPTL).”

Another significant decision pertained to a proposal from the Ministry of Commerce regarding the “Sharing of Subsidy on Imported Urea on 50:50 Basis Technical Supplementary Grant for the Ministry of Commerce.” The ECC endorsed the release of Rs. 6 billion to the Ministry of Commerce to settle arrears of subsidy from the previous fiscal year. It was clarified that no subsidy on this account has been allocated in the current fiscal year, with the ECC urging provincial governments to clear their respective arrears of subsidy on urea.

The Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives briefed the ECC on the country’s inflation situation, prompting the committee to direct a thorough analysis of the data collected by PBS and its subsequent presentation for appropriate and timely measures.

In a bid to alleviate the financial burden on the public during Ramadan, the ECC approved the proposed Ramzan Relief Package-2024, allocating a subsidy of Rs. 7,492.75 million to targeted beneficiaries of BISP, as stipulated in the 2023-24 budget.

Ghulam Abbas
Ghulam Abbas
The writer is a member of the staff at the Islamabad Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected]

2 COMMENTS

  1. Guys, join me and thank “HACKWEST AT WRITEME DOT COM” for helping me recover my money from this scam artist who poses as crypto traders and promises huge return on investment but ends up stealing money. I invested about €89,700 in a Telegram trading group believing I will be getting 30% interest rate every month, but in the end they kept asking me to invest more money before I was able to withdraw my money from their platform. I had to research and contacted Hack West who then helped recover all my money and also traced their identity. I can strongly recommend West for your quick and reliable crypto recovery.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Must Read

If Pakistan’s agriculture is to thrive, farmers need banks. But the...

It is no secret that agriculture has long been underserved by the country’s commercial banks. This last year might be the first step towards correcting this mistake