Daily Times

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Friday approved a proposal to export 40,000 metric tons of sugar to Tajikistan, subject to finalizing the sale agreement with the Tajik entity.

The ECC, which met with Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb in the chair, gave its consent for sugar’s export on a summary of the Ministry of Industries and Production.

The committee, however, directed that after further discussions with the Tajik entity, the final form of the sale agreement be brought back to it for approval. The Industries Ministry, in conjunction with the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), would lead the process, a news release said.

The ECC also reviewed and approved another proposal from the Industries Ministry regarding the further export of 0.100 million metric tons of surplus sugar.

The meeting was informed that the price of sugar as per the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data had shown a downward trend since July while sufficient stocks of sugar were available to meet domestic requirements up to January next year.

After detailed discussions and deliberations, the ECC approved the proposal in line with the terms and conditions already decided by it in its meeting on 13th June.

The committee also reviewed a proposal from the Ministry of Interior concerning the release of funds through a Technical Supplementary Grant for Project Implementation Letters of HQ Frontier Corps (FC), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (South).

The ECC gave approval for the funds amounting to Rs 456.600 million, and it would be released as Grant-in-Aid to the Interior Division for onward disbursement to HQ FC (South) in D.I. Khan for construction of eight women facilities in tribal districts.

The finance minister shared an update on the current economic situation and macroeconomic stability achieved across all sectors of the economy.

He said the currency was now in stable position with foreign exchanges at a 26-month high at the back of very resilient and strong remittances flows.

He said the Information Technology (IT) exports had also stabilized at about 300 million monthly figure which was a great news for the export sector.

The steady growth in the Roshan Digital Account (RDAs) with $165 million inflows received last month, he added.

He termed the reduction in inflation to a single digit a big story, hoping that it would further come down when the September data was released.

He described the situation with Current Account as very encouraging and noted the surplus of $75 million achieved in August. He hoped that with softer oil prices, a softer dollar and an aggressive rate cut which had already been reduced by 450bps, the Current Account situation would continue to be in a good position.

The minister also spoke about the rejection by the government of all bids for treasury bills on Wednesday, saying the move was aimed at conveying the message that the government was under no desperation to borrow, and if it were to borrow, it would borrow at its own terms.

He urged the banking system to focus on lending to the private sector. He said that 450 bps cut in the policy rate and the resultant ease in borrowing would help the government reduce its single largest expenditure of debt servicing, and create room for the banking sector to step up and lend aggressively to the private sector.

Aurangzeb also referred to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board meeting scheduled on September 25, saying that with the prayers of the nation and efforts made by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in association with bilateral partners, local teams, administration and all institutions, “we will hear a good news on 25th and move on from there”.

He noted that macroeconomic stability was not an end itself but a means to an end. He called it the basic hygiene and the building blocks that provide foundation to the whole edifice. “We would move in the right direction on the basis of this approach, and ensure gradual stability in the micro sectors as well.”

The meeting was attended by Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari (virtual), Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervaiz Malik, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), along with federal secretaries and senior officers of relevant ministries and divisions.