22 September 2004	Wednesday	06 Shaban 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Tuesday decided to release 200,000 tons of sugar from the Trading Corporation of Pakistan's (TCP) stocks to stabilize sugar prices in view of shab-i-barat and the month of Ramazan.

Presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the meeting directed the ministry of food, agriculture and livestock to ask the Punjab government to lift a ban on inter-provincial movement of wheat because imported wheat had already reached the country.

An official statement said the ECC reviewed prices of essential commodities and expressed satisfaction over a decline in sensitive price indicators over the past two weeks.

The committee, in particular, reviewed the prices of wheat and flour which, it claimed, had not only stabilized but had witnessed a decline over the last two weeks mainly due to the arrival of wheat from abroad.

The ECC asked the food ministry to ensure sufficient and timely availability of fertilizer to farmers at reasonable rates so that the targets for the Rabi crop were achieved.

Sources said the meeting was informed about the increase in DAP urea prices in recent weeks and was told that the prices had gone up on fears that the government would have to import the commodity due to an expected shortage.

The prime minister directed the food ministry to ascertain reasons for the rise in urea prices as there appeared no reason for such an increase. The ECC also directed the food ministry to devise a national strategy for the development of livestock sector because it had immense potential to help alleviate poverty, particularly in rural areas.

The meeting reviewed the overall economic situation in the country and expressed satisfaction that all the major economic indicators exhibited a strong momentum.