ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: The Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet on Wednesday allowed the export of 500,000 tons of wheat and reduced customs duty on a number of items pertaining to cement and manufacturing industries.

The ECC, presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, also deferred a decision on two railways projects but approved the release of 75 cubic feet of gas per day to Fatima Fertiliser, earlier given to another fertiliser company on the pattern of Qadir Pur Gas.

Briefing reporters about the ECC decisions, the adviser to the ministry of finance Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan said the government had decided to allow the private sector to export wheat because it was expecting a bumper crop.

He said that officials attending the meeting did not discuss offering any relief to the people on account of reduction in international oil prices. However, he said a four-member committee had been constituted to ensure that wheat export did not exceed the target to ensure stability vis-a-vis domestic wheat stock.

The committee comprises commerce and agriculture secretaries, Planning Commission deputy chairman, CBR chairman and a representative of the central bank.

The government, he said, had a surplus of 1.5 million tons which had prompted the ECC to allow its export. The government-maintained wheat stock amounted to 4.3 million tons until Dec 24 against 3.6 million tons it held in the same month last year.

The wheat target of 22 million tons, Dr Khan said, was likely to be surpassed as the government was anticipating a very good crop.

He said the decision has been taken that despite having surplus wheat in the government warehouses, sufficient wheat will be procured from the farmers and that nobody will be allowed to indulge in price hike of the commodity.

He said PASSCO was maintaining 800,000 tons of wheat stock, Balochistan 730,000 tons, NWFP 170,000 tons, Sindh 530,000 tons while Punjab had a wheat stock of 4.3 million tons.

The economic advisor said that another committee was set up under the chairmanship of Dr Salman Shah to examine whether the government should fix the prices of tractors. Ministers for industries and agriculture and the deputy chairman Planning Commission would be the committee’s members.

He said the ECC has decided to further exempt duties on 33 items to support 8 more local manufacturing units at the request of the ministry of industries and production and the Engineering Development Board (EDB). The total number of exempted items has now increased from 77 to 110. Units to be offered exemption in duties were Pak China Manufacturing Limited, All Pakistan Cables Conductors Association, Electronic Association, M/S ZJ products and Dong Feng Industries.

In most of the cases their tariff has been reduced from 5 per cent to zero per cent and 20 per cent to 10 per cent. But he said duty on transformers has been reduced to zero per cent by the ECC.