ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Tarin directed the concerned ministries to accelerate the process of importing wheat and sugar to ensure that sufficient stocks were available for smooth supply during the current financial year.
The minister said this during a meeting with Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research, Syed Fakhar Imam and Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Food Security Jamshed Cheema.
The meeting was convened to review the price trend of essential commodities.
SAPM on Finance and Revenue, Dr. Waqar Masood; Secretary Finance Division, Secretary Ministry of Industries and Production, Secretary Ministry of National Food Security Research, Provincial Chief Secretaries and other senior officers participated in the meeting.
The minister also urged the concerned ministries and Trading Corporation of Pakistan to exercise due diligence and take appropriate measures for risk hedging while floating tenders in international market.
The minister urged the representatives of the provincial governments to take corrective measures for reducing price differential between farm and retail prices.
He emphasized the need to review the entire food value chain and ensure that the farmers get a commensurate share of market value of their produce.
On the occasion, Jamshed Cheema briefed the finance minister on building strategic reserves of essential commodities namely wheat, sugar, pulses, edible oil/ghee, tomatoes, onion, garlic and chicken to prevent hoarding and undue profiteering.
The underlying rationale is to stabilize the prices of items of daily use.
The government would build the strategic reserves by importing 10-20% of the total consumption of the staple food items and supply into the market when needed in order to bridge the supply and demand gap, he said adding this would check the price fluctuation effectively.
He urged farmers to follow the international best practices and look into alternate options for perishable commodities like tomato puree, onion powder, garlic powder etc to meet peak demand due to seasonal variations.
This will offer cost-effective products for the consumers as well, he added.
