ISLAMABAD: Planning and Development Minister Muhammad Sami Saeed on Thursday expressed satisfaction with the price stabilisation of essential commodities.

Chairing the meeting of the National Price Monitoring Comm­ittee (NPMC), he directed the departments concerned to keep a vigilant eye on food prices to provide relief to the common man.

An official announcement said PBS officials shared price and inflation data with the participants.

The representatives from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan apprised the forum on the current production and supply of wheat, sugar and other essential commodities which, according to them, remained satisfactory.

The minister emphasised zero-tolerance against hoarders and profiteers, directing the provincial governments to engage their respective commissioners, deputy commissioners and magistrates to check malpractices.

The meeting also highlighted the importance of minimising the price differential between wholesale and retail prices of essential items to maximise relief for the common man.

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The meeting noted the deceleration of CPI inflation by 450 basis points in October.

However, the minister also emphasised stakeholders to take corrective measures to keep inflation under check.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary Planning Ministry, Awais Manzur Sumra, chief statistician of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), chief economist of Pakistan, representatives from all provinces, the Federal Board of Revenue, Ministry of Food Security and Industries and others relevant stakeholders.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2023