Agriculture
- Government Revises Power Tariff For Agriculture Consumers In Punjab
September 04, 2013 MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN The federal government has decided to charge a flat rate of Rs 10.50 per unit from agriculture consumers of five Distribution Companies (Discos) in Punjab during off peak hours till June 30, 2014, well informed sources...
- Ministry Seeks To Justify Urea Import
Friday, 19 July 2013 Ministry of Industries and Production has reportedly declared an ''emergency'' to justify import of 0.3 million tons of urea through a gallop tender. Official documents available with Business Recorder, Secretary Industries...
- 58 Mills Agree To Sell Sugar To Tcp
July 19, 2013 Some 58 sugar mills have expressed willingness to sell the commodity to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP). Following the directives of federal government, on July 3, 2013, TCP floated a tender for purchase of 50,000 tons of sugar...
- Government To Give 80 Percent Subsidy On Solar Tube-well Installation
July 15, 2013 Provincial Minister for Agriculture Dr Farrukh Javed said that government of the Punjab will give 80 percent subsidy on the installation cost of tube wells run on solar energy panels. He was presiding over a high level meeting in Secretary...
- Pakistan And Tajikistan Sugar Trade
Tajikistan has set new conditions for the import of sugar from Pakistan and now it is seeking a price of $20 less than international market instead of already agreed price. For last eight months, Pakistan and Tajikistan are negotiating to mature a sugar...
Agriculture
Ban imposed on release of inland subsidy on sugar export
MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN
Caretaker Minister for Commerce and Textile Industry, Maqbool H H Rehmatoola has reportedly imposed a ban on release of inland subsidy on export of sugar as well as the subsidy under the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2009-12 and 2012-15, well informed sources told Business Recorder.
The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, under the three-week long leadership of former Finance Minister, Saleem Mandviwalla, approved billions of rupees of financial incentives for politically influential sugar industry under the guise of inland subsidy on a summary moved by the Commerce Ministry.
However, the decision, considered questionable could not be implemented; several decisions taken by Saleem Mandviwalla are currently being heard by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. "Commerce Minister believes that the amount of inland subsidy can be used in elections, which is why he imposed a ban on the release of the amount under this head," the sources added.
Likewise, processing of cases of release of subsidy to exporters as announced in STFP is to be discontinued by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). The Minister feels that TDAP should not release any amount under that head as it would be considered against the directives of Election Commission of Pakistan. The officials in TDAP and Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), who intended to expedite cases of sugar mill owners and exporters for release of subsides were likely to be disappointed with that decision, said an official on condition of anonymity.
The sources said ECC in its meeting on March 6, had approved inland subsidy of Rs 1.75 per kg on 1.2 million tons of sugar. Earlier, the ECC meeting presided over by former finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh had approved Rs 8 billion incentives on export of 1.2 million tons of sugar on summaries prepared by the Commerce Ministry and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
However, SRO issued by the FBR favoured only sugar mills of Sindh zone. According to sources, Punjab produces 60 percent and KP 10 percent of overall sugar output in the country. The exclusion of both provinces has been strongly lamented by the industry as the SRO only favours one province. This SRO is being challenged in the court as discriminatory in nature and the major quantum of growers'' payments relates to Punjab. If KP and Punjab mills try to export through Karachi Port for destinations other than Afghanistan and CIS, it costs over 20 dollars in terms of haulage and it is practically impossible to export. According to sources, Secretary Finance Dr Waqar Masood has decided that the issue of release of inland subsidy should be left to the new elected government.
Source Business Recorder - Government Revises Power Tariff For Agriculture Consumers In Punjab
September 04, 2013 MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN The federal government has decided to charge a flat rate of Rs 10.50 per unit from agriculture consumers of five Distribution Companies (Discos) in Punjab during off peak hours till June 30, 2014, well informed sources...
- Ministry Seeks To Justify Urea Import
Friday, 19 July 2013 Ministry of Industries and Production has reportedly declared an ''emergency'' to justify import of 0.3 million tons of urea through a gallop tender. Official documents available with Business Recorder, Secretary Industries...
- 58 Mills Agree To Sell Sugar To Tcp
July 19, 2013 Some 58 sugar mills have expressed willingness to sell the commodity to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP). Following the directives of federal government, on July 3, 2013, TCP floated a tender for purchase of 50,000 tons of sugar...
- Government To Give 80 Percent Subsidy On Solar Tube-well Installation
July 15, 2013 Provincial Minister for Agriculture Dr Farrukh Javed said that government of the Punjab will give 80 percent subsidy on the installation cost of tube wells run on solar energy panels. He was presiding over a high level meeting in Secretary...
- Pakistan And Tajikistan Sugar Trade
Tajikistan has set new conditions for the import of sugar from Pakistan and now it is seeking a price of $20 less than international market instead of already agreed price. For last eight months, Pakistan and Tajikistan are negotiating to mature a sugar...