ISLAMABAD: Millers have completed 80 per cent of crushing of sugarcane during the current season, Industries Minister Hammad Azhar said on Monday.

This information was shared with the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) headed by Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh. The meeting also reviewed prices of essential food items during the last one week.

The Ministry of Industries and Production informed the NPMC that carryover stocks plus the latest crushing would ensure sufficient availability of sugar in the coming months.

The ministry requested the respective provincial governments to provide projections regarding the future sugar requirement for effective planning. Mr Azhar lauded the Utility Stores Corporation’s (USC) for covering more than 5pc of the consumer demand for essential items at subsidised rates across the country.

An official announcement said that the Ministry of Food Security and Research updated NPMC about availability of sufficient stock of wheat across the country. The ministry expressed satisfaction over the average per day releases by the provinces, which was stable throughout the country.

The food ministry of Balochistan apprised the committee about the arrangements being made for immediate lifting of 20,000 tonnes of wheat from Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco).

The NPMC reviewed the price trend of essential commodities especially wheat flour, eggs, chicken, sugar and edible oil during the week.

The federal finance ministry briefed the committee about weekly SPI that recorded a slight increase of 0.81pc, whereas prices of 06 items decreased and 21 items remained stable during the last week.

Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh directed Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to work out ranking of the districts with reference to price control so that provincial governments can take necessary actions accordingly.

Mr Shaikh also asked the provincial governments and departments concerned to take all necessary administrative measures to ensure uninterrupted supply of regulated wheat flour throughout the country.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2021