ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: The Economic Monitoring Committee (EMC) asked the ministry of petroleum on Thursday to prepare proposals for curtailing oil consumption in order to lower the oil import bill which has now reached $11 billion.
The EMC which met under Minister for Finance, Privatisation and Investment Syed Naveed Qamar also directed the ministry to make public the oil pricing structure in order to safeguard people’s interest.
It advised the ministry to specify government’s guidelines in sync with the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on gas pricing mechanism to the benefit of public at large.
The issue of recent declines in oil prices was also discussed and some committee members are reported to have urged the government to look into the matter and offer some relief to the people.
“The government may initially provide some relief to those who had been affected by the increase in diesel prices over the past few months,” a source quoted the finance minister as saying.
The committee said a decision to grant a waiver by relaxing the framework for setting up more CNG stations in Balochistan would provide relief to the common man.
It reaffirmed earlier decisions not to apply ban on sugar export on LCs opened prior to the announcement of ban.
It advised Minfal that decision to import refined or raw sugar must be taken in conjunction with fixing prices.
The EMC had directed Minfal to finalise a decision on wheat release prices after meeting provincial food secretaries and taking into consideration their viewpoint.
The ministry of industries was advised to convene a meeting of the committee on fertilisers to formulate recommendations on subsidy mechanism and submit the report.
The Minfal briefed the EMC on the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association’s existing and carry-forward stock position and said that stability in prices of foodgrains compared well with prices in regional countries—India, Iran, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
It was observed that sugar prices in international market had been rising continuously from October 2007 to June this year.
But, in domestic market, sugar prices remained stable since the export ban.
The finance minister advised that fertiliser-related subsidy should remain focused to domestic consumers in terms of relief and benefit.
The Minfal also briefed the EMC on the outcome of its meeting with provincial food departments and said that the federal government might decide on wheat release prices.
The EMC directed the Minfal to work out the issue price in consultation with provinces, authorising them to decide the dates of release of wheat as per local circumstances which governed local cost calculations.
Minfal informed the EMC that the forthcoming shipment of 36,000 tons of wheat should arrive on August 10, followed by the second and third shipments on August 15 and 21 (40,000 and 36,000 tones respectively).
The fourth shipment of 40,000 tones of wheat will arrive on August 26 followed by further imports on voyage time basis of the ships engaged.
The Minfal, also informed EMC that Pakistan’s projected edible oil consumption was likely to be around 2.8 million tons.
Taking stock of declining international edible oil prices, domestic oil and ghee rates have registered a fall in the open market.