LAHORE (July 29, 2010): The Punjab Agricultural Research Board (PARB) has approved a sum of Rs 140.220 million for funding seven higher priority research projects. The approval was given in the 22nd meeting of the Board of Directors held here on Wednesday with the Punjab Minister for Agriculture Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh in the chair.

LAHORE (July 29, 2010): Members of Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP) have appreciated the decision of the government to remove the regulatory duty on export of cotton yarn from Pakistan. The tributes were paid to the government at a specially convened meeting under the chairmanship of Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi, Vice Chairman FAP, said a FAP spokesman here on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD (July 29, 2010): The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet which is scheduled to meet on Thursday (July 29) with Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Sheikh in the chair will decide whether to allow white sugar procurement by the private sector, import of 0. 5 million tons raw sugar and increase in price of sugar at USC outlets, sources close to Secretary Industries told Business Recorder.

LAHORE (July 28, 2010): India on Tuesday released 2,00,000 to 2,60,000 cusecs more water in River Chenab from its Baglihar dam in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the river is in flash high flood at Marala, near Sialkot. Earlier India discharged 2,00,000 to 2,50,000 cusecs water in the river from the dam on 22nd July, which inundated low lying areas of Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin and Jhang districts around the river bed.

LAHORE (July 28, 2010): Punjab Agricultural Research Board (PARB) is working on a five-year project worth around Rs 75 million to control Bacterial Leaf Blight (BLB) in rice through management and resistant varieties. The board has involved Rice Research Institute, Kala Shah Kaku besides various other agricultural institutes to work on developing control on BLB, which, during the last few years, is significantly reducing both quality and quantity of produce, sources in the board told Business Recorder Tuesday.

KARACHI (July 28, 2010): The profit after tax of Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL) has increased to Rs 1.722 billion in the half year period ended June 30, 2010 as compared to Rs 0.497 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2009. The company's earning per share surged to Rs 1.84 in the period under review against Re 0.53 in the same period a year back.

ISLAMABAD (July 28, 2010): The Cabinet which is scheduled to meet on Wednesday (July 28) will discuss sugar and other commodities' stock position to ensure their availability during Ramazan. To be presided over by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Cabinet will discuss law and order situation in the country and offer Fateha for the son of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwah Information Minister Mian Iftikhar, who was assassinated by terrorists a couple of days ago.

ISLAMABAD (July 28, 2010): A series of news items has appeared in a section of Press authored by few journalists alleging TCP for delay in import of sugar making Chairman TCP personally responsible for this delay. Chairman TCP wishes to clarify that the real causes of delay in imports is due to strict observance of codal formalities required under PPRA Rules to maintain transparency in all deals.

LAHORE (July 28, 2010): The Punjab government is likely to start lifting its share of 50,000 tons of sugar to be released by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) in a few days, which will be available to the consumers at the rate of Rs 61 per kilogram during the month of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak through special stalls to be set up at 'Ramzan Bazaars.'

ISLAMABAD (July 28, 2010): What has blocked government's sugar import plan through private sector and on government-to-government basis? "We invited the private parties to deliberate possible sugar import deals with them in the light of the ECC instructions but the plan was scrapped when Secretary Finance stated that funds were not available for this purpose.