ISLAMABAD
Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Covid-19 lockdowns have adversely affected commodity prices in most of the countries in the world.
In a tweet on Sunday, the prime minister said that unprecedented rise in commodity prices internationally have affected most of the countries; Pakistan, however, has fared relatively much better in this situation.
The prime minister also shared a video link showing an analyst drawing the conclusion from data that Pakistan’s economy is developing and the country is performing and progressing well in the current scenario as compared with the other regional countries.
The prime minister also attached a video clip of Finance Ministry’s Spokesperson Muzammil Aslam’s comments on the country’s economy.
Quoting statistics of Food and Agriculture, Muzammil Aslam said prices of edible items increased by 3.9 percent from September to October this year, world serial index grew by 3.2 percent, and dairy products by 2.6 percent during the same period, while edible oil prices surged by 9.6 percent last month.
Dilating upon positive economic indicators, Muzammil Aslam said Pakistan’s exports increased by 17.5 percent last month, while they rose by 25 percent in the last four months. He expressed the hope that the export target of $30 billion will be achieved this year.
He said that textile exports touched the mark of $6 billion in the last quarter. He said tax collection grew by 37 percent, cotton production increased by 81 percent, while non-oil imports decreased by 12.5 percent.
Muzammil expressed the confidence that the economy will further improve in the coming days. “All this shows that the country’s economy is heading fast and employment would be required in the coming days,” the spokesperson commented.
Addressing a question about any relief for the middle class in the PM’s recently announced Rs120 billion relief package, he said the government had already announced a concession of Rs5-7 on every electricity unit to be consumed more than the previous year’s consumption during November to February.
Moreover, he said the sugar prices would fall in the near future owing to record sugarcane crop. “All these things will appear on the ground in coming days,” he remarked. He said the prices of oil, gas and edible oil are not in the government’s control; however the owing to the record crops this year, Pakistan would emerge from a food deficit to a food surplus country.
Pakistan’s annual inflation rate rose to 9.2 percent in October, up from 9 percent in previous months, the country’s statistics bureau said earlier this month. The country is facing historic inflationary pressure due to rising prices of commodities in the international market, including petroleum products.
