By NNN-APP,
Islamabad : Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani directed that declining trend in the prices of essential commodities must be maintained to provide maximum relief to the poor segments of society.
He was chairing a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) held here at the Prime Minister Secretariat on Wednesday.
The meeting reviewed the essential commodities prices and expressed satisfaction that a declining trend was observed therein.
The Prime Minister was briefed about the wheat situation in the country. It was told in the meeting that according to September 16 stock situation, there was 3.3 million tonnes of wheat in the country.
Besides that 2.5 million tonnes of wheat was to be imported of which 1.7 million tonnes had already been purchased and would be shipped during the current month.
The meeting was further told that there would be sufficient wheat in the country till the end of this year.
The Prime Minister directed the authorities to further improve the wheat availability in the country.
The meeting also reviewed the current inflation and it was observed that this was not particular to Pakistan only as almost all the countries of the world were hit by inflation.
The Prime Minister also took note of current fertilizer situation in the country and directed the authorities to make sure the availability of fertilizers during the sowing seasons.
Gilani also expressed satisfaction over the revenue collection by the FBR as it had collected Rs. 147 billions which is greater than the previous year collection by Rs. 12.2 billion (32.2%).
The Prime Minister was told that a declining trend was noted in the cement prices which stood firm for a long period.
The Prime Minister was also informed about the foreign direct investment (FDI).
The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction over the increase in the FDI by 72% despite the law and order situation in the country.
The meeting was told that the remittances sent by the overseas Pakistanis in the last two months stood at approximately US $ 1.2 billion, which is higher by 23% than the last year.