Islamabad / Lahore:
The federal government has intensified its efforts to stabilize prices and fight against heavy agricultural losses caused by recent floods that have devastated millions of permanent cultures across the country.
Thursday, chairing the second meeting of the inflation steering committee in Islamabad, the Minister of Finance, Muhammad Aurangzeb, said that the control of inflation and the guarantee of price stability remained among the most important priorities in the government to relieve low -income households and families affected by floods.
High officials from the Ministries of Finance, Energy, Petroleum, Planning, National Food Safety, State Bank, Statistics and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) attended Reunion.
The Committee, trained on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is responsible for monitoring inflationary pressures, coordinating the measures of federal-provincial policy and guaranteeing administrative decisions in a timely manner.
Reunion examined the entire basket of food products and recent changes in the sensitive price index (SPI). Officials informed that if adequate wheat stocks – in addition to strategic reserves – were available, initial assessments suggested that damage to rice and sugar cane crops were manageable.
The Minister of Finance, however, underlined strict monitoring to limit artificial price increases and called for effective action against speculation on the markets. The preparations for the next sowing season have also been discussed, with instructions to guarantee a timely supply of seeds and entries.
The Committee asked the NDMA, the Suparco and the Statistics Office to work with provincial governments to carry out precise and timely evaluations of damage to crops. It will meet next week to examine progress and make other decisions aimed at stabilizing prices.
Meanwhile, the National Minister of Food Security Rana Tanveer launched consultations with provincial governments for harvest losses. Sources have confirmed that he will meet on Sunday the Minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, and should also meet with the chief minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, alongside the provincial chief secretary and food secretary.
Meetings will examine the agricultural damage induced by floods and rain, will examine rescue measures for farmers and deliberate on a new import policy for fruits, vegetables and other products to avoid food shortages.
Devastation was particularly serious in Punjab, where recent floods destroyed crops on approximately 2.125 million acres of agricultural land, according to provincial sources of the Department of Agriculture. The main affected crops include cotton, rice, sugar cane, fodder, corn and vegetables.
Officials said 110,850 acres of cotton, 970,929 acres of rice, 186,419 acres of corn, 220,344 acres of sugar cane, 450,000 acres of fodder and 115,260 acres of vegetables were lost in recent punjab floods. (With application entries)
