ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: The government is likely to levy regulatory duty on export of flour (atta) and its by-products through land route to check prices of these commodities ahead of Ramazan.

A senior official told Dawn on Saturday that the decision, among others, is expected to be taken in a meeting of the ECC, to be headed by prime minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday.

The regulatory duty will be in the range of Rs5 to 10 per kg on export of these commodities on land route to the neighbouring countries.

This decision would reduce, to some extent, export of these commodities to Afghanistan — the only destination through land route.

The prime minister has already announced imposition of ban on export of flour, maida and sooji through sea route to arrest the steady increase in the prices of these commodities in the local market. However, a formal decision will be announced after the ECC meeting.

The ban is aimed at discouraging export of flour and its products to neighboring countries, particularly India.

The official said the notification is expected to be issued after the meeting, which would also approve an exhaustive Ramazan package in a bid to scale down prices of essential kitchen items at all outlets of the Utility Stores Corporation.

The price of the commodity was steady on rise, though this year the country witnessed a hefty growth of 10.5 per cent in wheat as it stood at 23.520 million tons as against 21.276 million recorded in the previous year.

According to the official, the government would also consider reduction in retail price of more than 350 daily use items to be offered for sale at all outlets of the utility stores across the country.

The reduction in prices would be in the range of five to 20 per cent on these products, which will be approved in the ECC meeting, added the official.

The ministry of industries has submitted a detailed summary to the ECC regarding reduction in prices for Ramazan. The package is expected to keep the price of essential items within the reach of the common man.

According to the official, the prime minister has already written letters to all the provinces to release stocks of wheat to the flour mills to ensure stabilisation of prices of atta across the country.

The provinces have also been asked to effectively employ price magistrates to ensure stability of prices of essential items in the local markets and a law to this effect has already been promulgated.