A meeting of special cabinet committee on Ramzan Package was held on Saturday at Civil Secretariat, Lahore to review the prices, supply and demand situation during the month of Ramzan. The meeting was chaired by Punjab Additional Chief Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khawaja and other senior officers of the provincial government.
Punjab Food Minister Bilal Yaseen also participated in the meeting for a short while. The meeting was informed that the number of consumers in Ramzan bazaars this year has exceeded up to 6.7 million up till now. The edibles have been sold to the fasting people of the province on subsidised prices. Where there was any complaint regarding violation of commodities prices, weighs and measures or quality issues, the special prices control magistrates conducted 60 thousand raids on the suspects.
7918 profiteers were apprehended and total fine of rupees 5 crore 36 lakh was levied. The special branch of the Punjab police has presented a list to the higher authorities of the government of Punjab consisting of the hoarders of sugar and other commodities. Additional Chief Secretary Punjab directed all the DCOs to arrange raids on minimally two profiteers and with hoarders in each district on daily basis, so that there would be no chance left for any shortage of edible items after Eid.
The meeting was informed that there is no shortage of edible oil and banaspati ghee in the stocks of ghee dealers and that further supply of edible oil is also in the pipeline.
The meeting analysed in depth the performance of fair price shops arranged by Punjab Agriculture Marketing Wing of agriculture department and the additional chief secretary appreciated the outcome of effective intervention of agriculture marketing wing which resulted in stability of prices in both Ramzan bazaars and in open market. Special Secretary Agriculture Marketing Dr. Farah Masood claimed in the meeting that vegetable prices witnessed in last 5 years were the lowest this year.
The price index of pulses did rise a little because of low productivity of pulses in local fields and price hike in the international market. Pakistan had to import pulses from other countries on bigger prices. The variation in the prices of black gram, basin and gram pulse in various districts of Punjab was due to variant transportation charges as the pulse-mills are situated in Sargodha and Faisalabad only.
She informed that the gram pulse has been provided to the people at fair price shops at subsidised rate up to the tune of Rs.20 per kg as compared to that available in open market while other pulses were supplied with a subsidy of Rs.10 per kg.
The total sale of pulses and vegetables in Ramzan bazaars this year remained 14150 tons as compared to the sale of these commodities during last Ramzan which was 11958 tons. The additional chief secretary advised the agri-marketing wing to remain in touch with the relevant suppliers throughout the year to ensure that it should become inevitable for them not to create artificial price hike in the name of short supply of commodities. The government will ensure that the people of Punjab could purchase the essential items of daily use on reasonable prices throughout the year, he added.
