ISLAMABAD: The National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) on Monday directed the Balochistan government to lift 20,000 tonnes of wheat from the Pakistan Agricul­tu­ral Storage and Services Corporation (Passco).

The NPMC meeting chaired by Secretary Finance Kamran Ali Afzal directed the Balochistan food secretary and the Passco MD to make an immediate arrangement for the lifting of the wheat to ensure steady supply of wheat flour in the province.

An official statement issued after the meeting said the NPMC urged provincial governments and departments concerned for making consolidated and coordinated efforts to avoid hoarding, black marketing and smuggling to ensure uninterrupted supply of basic commodities at affordable prices across the country.

The NPMC also directed the provincial and district administrations to proactively monitor the prices of chicken and edible oil in order to ensure smooth supply at fair prices across the country.

The NPMC meeting was held at the Finance Division to review the price trend of essential commodities especially wheat flour, eggs, chicken, sugar and edible oil during the last week.

Finance Secretary Afzal briefed the NPMC about weekly SPI that increased by 0.5 per cent. The NPMC noted decline in prices of wheat, sugar, tomatoes, onion, eggs and potatoes during the week.

The chief secretaries from respective provincial governments updated NPMC about availability of sufficient stocks of wheat and average per day release by the provinces, which was stable throughout the country.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2021