ECC okays ‘conditional’ export of sugar

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet allowed the Ministry of Industry and Production to export 150,000 tonnes of sugar, ARY News reported.

The approval is subject to the condition that the export of sugar will not cause price hike in the domestic market. The ECC maintained that if the price of sugar increases, the permission to export will be cancelled.

Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday chaired a meeting of the ECC that was also attended by Minister for Industries & Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister for Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik, Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Minister of State for Finance & Revenue Ali Pervez Malik, federal secretaries, and other senior officials of the relevant ministries.

The ECC approved several proposals from various government ministries and divisions including approval of Rs 5 billion for Defence Division for Green Tourism Pakistan Project; Rs. 0.6 billion to the Ministry of Interior for raising three additional Corps Headquarters and Rs 87 million in respect of Headquarters Frontier Corps KP and Rs 4,637 million in respect of Civil Armed Forces for meeting the operational requirement and pending liabilities of ration.

The committee okayed Rs 126.848 million to the Cabinet Division for clearing the requirements of outstanding custom duties / taxes; Rs 29 million to the President Secretariat to meet the expenditures under “Employee Related Expenses; and  Rs 5,400 million to the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination in favour of Federal Directorate of Immunisation (FDI) for the immunisation activity.

The ECC also approved Rs4.4.92 billion for family assistance packages and social initiatives in education and health sector in Gilgit-Baltistan; Rs 6,596 million to the Ministry of National Food Security & Research for payment of pending liabilities to PASSCO; Rs 370 million to the Ministry of Housing and Works to pay the pending liabilities; and Rs 332 million to the Ministry of Economic Affairs for developing Somali National Identification System by NADRA; and Rs 14,250 million to the Finance Division as Rupee cover to facilitate the successful implementation of the Women Inclusive Finance Project.