ECC for action against hoarders, middlemen
Posted by muhammadadrees on August 12, 2009
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet constituted on Tuesday a four-member committee of federal secretaries to control prices of food items, particularly during Ramazan, and take action against hoarders.
The committee will hold meetings with the chief ministers to work out modalities and implement administrative measures. It will recommend measures to minimise the role of middlemen.
A yawning gap between the wholesale price index — 0.5 per cent — and the consumer price index — 11 per cent — points clearly to hoarding.
The ECC meeting, presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, also decided to set up consumer protection committees with an active involvement of public representatives.
It asked the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) to sell sugar for Rs38 per kg during Ramazan. The USC was also allowed to sell from its outlets 75,000 tons of sugar per month for the next two months to ensure availability of sufficient stocks during Ramazan.
The ECC allowed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to offload 20,000 tons of sugar per month over the next two months in the open market and import the remaining 75,000 tons from the approved 200,000 tons of white sugar.
The ECC approved the export of 53 dumper trucks stuck in Risalpur export processing zones meant for export to tariff area on payment of usual duties and taxes as a special case.
The meeting discussed the revision of re-lending policy of foreign loans/credits and agreed with a proposal of the provincial governments that the committee set up for this purpose be granted 30 days extension to recommend a tangible solution acceptable to both provincial and federal governments.
The ECC took serious notice of non-implementation of some of its earlier decisions and directed ministries and departments concerned to submit their implementation reports.
The meeting expressed satisfaction over the wheat stock, which as on Aug 2 stood at 9.749 million tons, compared to 3.697 million tons in the same period last year. Wheat procurement has increased to 9.231 million tons while the target was 7.05 million tons.
Overseas workers’ remittances rose to $7,811.4 million in July-June 2008-09 from $6,451.2 million over the same period last year — an increase of 21.1 per cent.
