ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet remained indecisive on minimum support price (MSP) of wheat for the next fiscal year in the second consecutive meeting as the Minister for National Food, Security and Research, Syed Fakhar Imam, suggested Rs1,745 per 40kg to support farmers against a rise in input cost to ensure food security in the country.
Sources said that prior to the ECC meeting on Wednesday, a committee constituted on MSP was met but without any outcome, and now the matter would be taken up again on Monday for discussion and approval, and if a consensus was reached, it would be placed before the cabinet meeting for final nod.
They added that Minister for Industries also stated that subsidies provided by the government on agriculture were not reaching farmers, so there was a need to put in place a system to ensure that the subsidy reaches farmers with consequent benefits to people in the form of reduction in prices. They added that there were chances for approval of a Rs1650 per 40kgs of wheat MSP proposed by the Punjab government.
On Wednesday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, chaired a meeting of the ECC, and approved two Technical Supplementary Grants for the Ministry of Defence of Rs17 billion during the current financial year.
The ECC also approved the request of the Ministry of Commerce for the inclusion of radiation apparatus in annex-B-1 of the Import Policy Order, 2020.
On a summary moved by the Ministry of Industries and Production for ensuring the supply of RLNG to fulfill the requirements of two fertiliser plants namely Agritech and Fatima Fertilizer for the Rabi Season 2020-2021, the ECC decided that the supply of RLNG will continue till the end of November 2020.
A three-member committee, which was constituted earlier by the ECC, under the chairmanship of Minister for Industries and Production and having members from the Ministries of Finance and the NFS&R will prepare a proposal for the further operation of these plants after the said period and then bring it to the ECC for final decision.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
Comments
Comments are closed.