RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) on Sunday lauded the government move to reduce petroleum prices.

In a statement, RCCI President Mohammad Nasir Mirza said the government should ensure that the impact of the cuts is shifted to the masses. Petrol and diesel prices have a direct impact on transportation costs. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the inflation rate in March was nine per cent.

The government will have to take emergency measures to control inflation.

“Ramazan is approaching and we urged the government to take immediate steps to control food inflation and all relevant departments must be directed to put a check on the balance between supply and demand.”

He said more than 800 million had flowed into the Roshan digital account. This is a good scheme and will help the government reduce the budget deficit.

However, he expressed concern over the growing trade deficit.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the trade deficit has risen to close to around $3billion in March compared to $1.5billion in March last year.

In the first nine months of the current financial year, the trade deficit has increased to more than $21 billion compared to about $17 billion in the same period last fiscal year.

Increasing the trade deficit will upset the balance of payments, he cautioned.

“The rupee will depreciate further, inflation will rise, foreign debt will rise and the overall economy will weaken further, so the government should take immediate steps to overcome the problem of trade deficit,” he added.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2021