Minister orders food price monitoring amid surge

Islamabad witnessed a crucial meeting of the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) on Wednesday, led by Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal. The committee deliberated on the rising gap between wholesale and retail prices of essential commodities, and directed authorities to intensify monitoring of transport fares.

During the session, Mr. Iqbal expressed deep concern over the increasing costs of vital food items, particularly wheat flour. In response, he instructed provincial and district administrations to bolster surveillance of supplies, market arrivals, hoarding, profiteering, and unjustified hikes in prices.

The minister also tasked the authorities with comparing present transport fares with those from the last fuel price hike to ascertain whether the recent surge in fuel prices had led to a disproportionate rise in transport charges. Furthermore, he urged the Ministry of Food Security to investigate why the Domestic Animal Production (DAP) prices remained high in Pakistan despite a decline in international prices, stressing that the benefits of lower global prices should be passed onto the domestic market.

A significant directive from the meeting was the submission of inspection and quality assessment reports regarding ghee, edible oil, and milk products within a week. The minister emphasized that if the industry had proposed third-party validation, the associated costs should be borne by the industry itself, not the government.

Mr. Iqbal called upon provincial governments to closely monitor wholesale and retail prices, taking enforcement action where unjustified discrepancies were found, particularly in major markets like Lahore and Karachi. He also advocated for strict monitoring of supply chains and distribution costs to prevent an excessive transfer of fuel price hikes to essential food prices.