Tarin announces subsidy on sugar, oil prices, defends petrol price hike

ISLAMABAD: Prices of petroleum products are lower in Pakistan than other countries, federal finance minister Shaukat Tarin said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Shaukat Tarin today claimed that the prices of petroleum are 30 to 40 percent lesser in Pakistan than other countries.

“We have hike the price of petroleum products by 13 to 14 percent. The opposition’s criticism have no justification,” the minister said.

Shaukat Tarin also announced to offer subsidy on edible oil and sugar prices. Finance minister announced to fix the sugar price at 90 rupees per kilo. “The government will bear the extra burden of the imported sugar price,” he said.

Government taxes will be slashed to lower the edible oil price by 40 to 50 rupees, he further said.

“The government will offer direct food subsidy to 40 to 42 percent people over the edible items”, he said.

“We are bringing down the price controlling to the lower level. We intend to end the role of the middleman (in the supply chain)”, he said.

“International Monetary Fund has pressed for hike in taxes and curtailing subsidies. The IMF has also demanded to halt and slash the circulatory debt,” he said. “We have disagreement with the IMF over the matter,” he said. “We will present our stance and defend it,” finance minister further said.

It is to be mentioned here that Pakistan and IMF will hold staff-level discussions from October 4 to decide the thorny issues like further hike in electricity tariffs etc.

“Afghanistan is also a factor in current depreciation of the Pakistani rupee,” Shaukat Tarin said while commenting on persistent slide in the Pakistani currency. “The dollar is running out of country to Afghanistan. They are purchasing dollars. Earlier, the dollar was coming from Afghanistan and now going from here,” the minister said.