The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has fixed procurement target for the wheat crop eight million tons. The ECC met under the chairmanship of the Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar at the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday.
In his opening remarks the Finance Minister said that all economic indicators are on the positive trend. Growth is moving up, inflation is going down, foreign exchange reserves are growing, value of rupee is appreciating and the stock market is moving up. He added that the economic scenario of the country is moving in the right direction and we will be able to contribute in prosperity of our people.
The ECC approved the summary of Ministry of National Food Security and Research for fixing procurement target for the wheat crop 2013-14 as 8.000 million tons. This includes 1.600 million tons of wheat to be procured by PASSCO. The following are the details of the procurement by the Provincial Governments.
Province/Agency Target (Million Tons)
Punjab 4.500
Sindh 1.300
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 0.450
Balochistan 0.150
PASSCO 1.600
Total: 8.000
The ECC also decided to extend the ban on the import of gold under SRO 760 upto 31st March, 2014. Finance Minister directed the Ministry of Commerce to re-examine the issue holistically for submission of the matter before ECC in the next meeting. The Finance Minister also directed the Commerce Ministry to lift restrictions on the export of Gem Stones.
The ECC also reviewed performance of Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector. The ECC was informed by the Ministry of Industries that with the induction of the present government, the performance of LSM has improved to a great extent. He said that the LSM growth stood at 6.8% in July-December 2013-14 as compared to 2.3% in the same period last year. The ECC was informed that there is 78% increase in sugar production and 28% increase in fertilizer sector.
The Finance Minister observed that the main reason for increase in production is due to reduction in electricity load-shedding and enhanced supply of natural gas to the industry. He said that the growth reflects renewed confidence of business community/industrialists on the economic policies of the government. Finance Minister directed the officials of the Ministries of Commerce and Industries to ensure shipment of export quota of sugar upto 500,000 metric tons. He said that both the Ministries and State Bank of Pakistan should reconcile their data on sugar export. He also directed the Commerce Ministry to submit a comprehensive policy on sugar. Finance Minister further directed the officials of the Ministry of Industries to present their recommendations and concrete measures before the next ECC meeting, which would achieve growth targets in LSM sector.
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