Commodity News Snapshot-Pakistan

Floods cause Rs 17 billion losses to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa livestock, agriculture sectors

PESHAWAR (September 01, 2010): Heavy torrential rains and devastating floods caused a loss of Rs 5.344 billion to livestock and Rs 12.139 billion to agricultural sectors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, respectively. Briefing media here at Chief Minister's House on Tuesday, provincial minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that statistics gathered from various districts showed a total of 94,924 cows and bulls were affected and 29,081 died in the floods which worth Rs 1.769.billion.

Who to blame for sugar price hike?

ISLAMABAD (September 01, 2010): Sugar prices are hovering at around Rs 90 per kg and it is difficult to determine which of the key players is to blame: the government, including TCP, the sugar mill owners, the stockists, the wholesalers, or the retailers. Background interviews with officials and private sector stakeholders, however, do establish the fact that sugar price is at an artificially high level and someone is making windfall profits during Ramazan.

TCP opens two LCs for 0.32 million tons of sugar import

KARACHI (September 01, 2010): The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has established two Letters of Credit (LCs) worth $243 million for import of 320,000 tons of white refined sugar. Sources told Business Recorder on Tuesday that with the opening of two LCs it is expected that first shipment of sugar would reach Pakistan in mid-September.

Sindh government lifts ban on inter-district wheat movement

KARACHI (September 01, 2010): The Sindh government has withdrawn Section 144 on the movement of wheat in the province to deal with the expected shortage of the commodity in the flood hit districts, Business Recorder has learnt. It may be mentioned here that the Sindh government, couple of month's back, had imposed Section 144 on the wheat movement at the joint borders of Sindh-Punjab-Balochistan and within the province to avoid smuggling of the commodity

Rice farmers, cotton millers: Zardari for special credit package

KARACHI (September 01, 2010): President Asif Ali Zardari has held a meeting with the representatives of rice growers and cotton ginning millers at Chief Minister's House here on Tuesday to discuss the extent of damages to rice and cotton crops due to recent floods and examine the ways and means to retrieve the losses and help recover the lost ground.

PSMA (Punjab) calls for import of raw sugar

LAHORE (August 31, 2010): Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA - Punjab) Chairman Javed Kayani has laid emphasis on the import of raw sugar to meet the demand in coming season. Kayani in a letter written to the Secretary Food Punjab said shortage of food is likely to aggravate as about twelve districts in Punjab have been inundated by the flash floods, damaging crops badly.