The Pakistani government on Monday approved the plan to buy 300,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia at a cost of $372 per tonne.
The import of wheat under the govt agreement was approved by the Economic Coordination Committee, which is headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
The committee also approved increasing the oil marketing companies (OMC) revised margins from Rs3.68 on MS petrol and diesel to Rs6 per litre, witnessing an increase in OMCs’ margins of 63.04% for an interim duration.
Top official sources claimed that following detailed deliberation it was decided that petroleum prices may be deregulated starting on November 1, 2022. In the interim, in conjunction with the interested parties, the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) will analyze the implementation of the deregulation of petroleum prices with regard to in-country freight equalization, protection of dealer margins, and collection of sales tax on dealer margins.
The OGRA would present its recommendation to the committee for the interim period no later than September 15, 2022. The OMCs concurred that their margins may be set at Rs. 6 per litre for a certain period. The ECC also agrees that OGRA would keep an eye on the margins that will be included in the forum-approved ex-depot sales price
Earlier, it was also proposed that beginning on August 5, 2022, OGRA may use the already-approved process to establish petroleum product pricing every Friday evening, with prices taking effect on Saturday. However, this decision could not be implemented so far.
Dar presided over the committee meeting at the Finance Division, according to a formal notification released by the Ministry of Finance on Monday night. The meeting was attended by senior government officials including the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue Tariq Pasha, federal secretaries, and other dignitaries.
The Russian Federation’s Prodintorg offered to supply 300,000 tonnes of specific milling wheat at $372 per tonne for the shipment period from November 1, 2022, to January 15, 2023. The Russian Federation’s Ministry of Commerce presented a summary of the procurement of wheat from Russia on a G2G basis. Following the discussion, the ECC approved the summary.
