ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh has directed the provincial governments to continue the momentum of strict price monitoring for the provision of essential commodities at affordable prices.
While chairing the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) meeting on Monday, the minister directed the authorities concerned to control the increasing price trend of essential commodities especially wheat flour, eggs, chicken, sugar and edible oil during the week in the provinces.
On this occasion, Secretary Finance briefed the committee about weekly SPI that recorded a slight increase of 0.81 percent, whereas prices of six food items decreased and 21 items remained stable during the last week.
In his briefing, Ministry of Industries and Production of the committee said that about 80 percent crushing of sugarcane has been completed during the current season.
He requested the respective provincial governments to provide projections regarding the future sugar requirement for effective planning during 20121.
Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar appreciated the Utility Stores Corporations for covering more than five percent of the consumer demand for necessary food items at subsidized rates across the country.
Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh urged the provincial governments and departments concerned to take all necessary administrative measures to ensure an uninterrupted supply of regulated wheat flour throughout the country.
He instructed the provincial administrations to proactively monitor the prices of essential commodities to avoid hoarding and black marketing effectively.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved proposed measures aimed at controlling rising prices of basic commodities’ in the country. The meeting mulled over measures to reduce the prices of wheat, sugar, and other essential commodity items.
