Agri Forum Pakistan has urged the government to import oil from Iran and export rice and kinnow under barter system to save precious foreign exchange as well as providing cheaper fuel to the Pakistani consumers. Agri Forum Pakistan Chairman Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal in a statement issued here Tuesday said that Pakistan would be able to deliver diesel at the rate of Rs75 per liter instead of present rate of Rs104 per liter. About nine billion liters of diesel per annum is consumed in the country and its cheaper provision would cut the cost of doing business by the transport, factories and agricultural sector, he claimed. Commenting upon increasing prices of petroleum products in Pakistan, Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal said that our neighbouring country India was importing a large part of its diesel requirement from Iran and Pakistan should follow this practice. He said India was providing this diesel in Pak rupees at Rs74 per liter and in Indian rupees at Rs41 per liter.
He said that Pakistanis were consuming around nine billion liter of diesel per annum at present rate of Rs104 per liter. ‘Pakistan government can provide a facility of cut of Rs205 billion to Pakistanis by importing diesel from Iran and providing it to its own consumers at the rate of Rs75 per liter,’ Mughal said. Agri Forum Chairman questioned that if Europe and India could provide cheaper fuel to its national by importing diesel from Iran then why Pakistani was not following it to save our people from inflation.