'NPMC should minimise gap of prices between grower, retailers'

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has directed the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) to adopt a comprehensive and proactive strategy to minimize the gap of prices between grower and retailers, ARY News reported on Monday.

Shaukat Tarin presided over the meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) held at the Finance Division today. He briefed the participants that Prime Minister Imran Khan is determined to bring ease to the lives of the poor in Pakistan.

“A multi-pronged approach is being followed for this purpose. Different schemes and incentives have been rolled out and many more are on the cards to uplift the lives of common people. The recently presented Federal Budget 2021-2022 is a practical manifestation of the pro-poor approach of the government. All departments and organizations should contribute to uplift lives of the underprivileged.”

“Prices of commodities of daily use have a direct impact on the lives of common people. National Price Monitoring Committee is a forum that is actively monitoring the prices of essential items and ensuring its smooth supply. The difference between wholesale and retail prices of essential items is not only huge but also varies across different cities which require thorough analysis.”

The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, secretary finance, all chief secretaries, chief commissioner Islamabad, representatives of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), commerce ministry, Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and other relevant departments.

During the meeting. the finance secretary briefed that the weekly SPI decreased by 0.59 per cent during the last week. A week earlier, the weekly SPI declined by 0.61 per cent while it is the third consecutive week that SPI is declining.

He further briefed the meeting that the prices of nine items declined last week, whereas, the prices of 28 items remained stable while prices of 14 items saw a slight upward trend.

The meeting took stock of the strategic reserves of essential commodities.

The finance minister issued directions to relevant departments to maintain the strategic reserves of essential commodities and ensure timely and appropriate measures to avoid any untoward situation.

Tarin directed that the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) should adopt a comprehensive and proactive strategy to minimize the gap of prices between grower and retailers. He added that the reduction will significantly lower the prices of essential commodities for end users.

He further said that the Federal Bureau of Statistics is an independent entity but a committee with SAPM on Finance and Revenue as chairman and consisting of representatives from all stakeholders including representatives from provinces should engage with the Federal Bureau of Statics to work out further perfection in data collection mechanism of PBS wherever required.