Adviser to the PM on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has directed all the provinces to meet their stocks by immediately lifting imported sugar and injecting the commodity into the market to bring down its prices. The finance adviser said this while presiding over the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) meeting on Wednesday. The adviser said that the government will continue to take all possible measures to ensure smooth supply of essential commodities throughout the country. He commended the efforts of the representatives of the Punjab government and Islamabad administration and expressed concern over the significant price differential in the wheat flour prices in Sindh and Balochistan as compared to other provinces. He advised the provincial chief secretaries of Sindh and Balochistan to increase the daily releases of wheat to improve the supply situation in the markets. The adviser reiterated the firm commitment of the Government to ensure smooth supply of wheat flour across the country at government specified rate. While reviewing the price trend of basic commodities, the adviser stated that the government has taken a range of administrative and policy measures and by managing supply and demand chains, the prices of daily commodities are controlled as compared to the last year. The secretary finance briefed the NPMC about the weekly SPI situation which has been increased by 0.67% during the week under review. While reviewing the price trend of essential commodities, the secretary finance apprised that prices of three essential commodities registered decline whereas prices of 20 items remained stable during the last week. The secretary also apprised the meeting that prices of essential commodities registered a decline in prices as compared to the same month of last year. He further updated the NPMC that the prices of the wheat flour bags remained consistent at Rs1,100 per 20-kg due to the proactive measures of the Punjab government and ICT administration. While reviewing the price of sugar in the country, the secretary finance informed that prices are easing out in Punjab due to proactive measures of the government. The NPMC observed that Sastaa Sahulat Bazaars in Punjab are offering essential goods at subsidised prices. The adviser commended the efforts of the representatives of the Punjab and Islamabad administration in providing key items at discounted prices through arranging Sastaa Bazaars. Minister for National Food Security & Research Syed Fakhar Imam, Minister for Industries & Production Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib, Adviser to the PM on Commerce & Investment Abdul Razak Dawood, federal secretaries, provincial chief secretaries, chief statistician Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, chairman Federal Board of Revenue, managing director Utility Stores and other senior officers participated in the meeting.