Nationwide Updates

► What’s new in the May WTO agri proposals

The chairman of agriculture talks in the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha round, New Zealand’s WTO ambassador Crawford Falconer, issued a revised negotiating text on May 19.  This reflects the progress made in negotiations since the last revision on Feb. 8, and forms the blueprint for the agriculture chapter in the final deal. Falconer said further revisions will probably be needed. Here are the main changes in the new text: * One of the main changes generally is to simplify ranges or alternatives to a single number or option where that looks like being the final outcome, even if complete agreement has not yet been reached on it.  Initial cut or “downpayment” for countries with overall trade-.   (Daily Times)

► Food summit blames trade barriers for high prices

The United Nations urged a summit on the global food crisis on Tuesday to help stop the spread of starvation threatening nearly 1 billion people by lowering trade barriers and removing export bans. “Nothing is more degrading than hunger, especially when man-made,” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told world leaders who are likely to disagree over the link between biofuel production and high food prices. The head of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which is hosting the summit, said wealthy nations had been spending billions of dollars on farm subsidies, wasteful and excess consumption of food, and on arms. “The excess consumption by the world’s obese costs $20 billion annually.  (The News)

► Pakistan buys 500,000T fuel oil

Pakistan has awarded an import tender for 500,000 tonnes of low-sulphur fuel oil for supply between June to September to Middle East trader Fal Oil, industry sources said on Tuesday. Pakistan State Oil (PSO) will purchase 10 cargoes of 50,000 tonnes over the next four months, as it turns to burn oil at its utilities due to a severe domestic shortage. The strike price of the buy tender was not immediately known. The cargoes for delivery will be of 170-centistoke (cst), 0.95 sulphur and 0.92-0.96 density for delivery into Karachi, with the first scheduled to be shipped by June 14-16. In an April to June tender, PSO purchased 300,000 tonnes of fuel oil at premiums of $69 to $90 a tonne.  (The News)

► Duty cut on hundreds of items proposed

The Ministry of Commerce has proposed reduction in customs duty for unconditional import of hundreds of raw materials, inputs, components and assemblies used by leading industrial sectors/local manufacturers under SRO 565 (I) 2006. Sources told Business Recorder on Tuesday that the Ministry of Commerce has also submitted a major budgetary proposal to take away survey condition specified in SRO.565 (I) 2006 to facilitate the local industry, particularly the small and medium enterprises. According to the Commerce Ministry's proposal, the FBR should bring down the general tariff specified in the First Schedule of the Customs Act, 1969 for which concessional rate of duty has been provided in SRO 565.  (Business Recorder)

► Leather export target to be surpassed 

The Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) has said that the encouraging trends in export of leather and leather goods indicate that the export target of $1.135 billion will be surpassed by June 30, 2008. PTA chairman S M Naseem in a statement issued on Tuesday said that higher exports were made during first ten months (July to April) of the current fiscal year against $795 million recorded in the same period last year. He said that the entire leather sector achieved 24 per cent growth in exports during the period under review but the export of finished leather goods increased by 34 per cent from $253 million to $338 million.  (Dawn)

► Provinces directed to lift curbs on wheat movement

ECC of the cabinet, which met here on Tuesday with Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in the chair, accorded ex-post facto approval for Rs 15 billion financing from commercial banks consortium for Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to settle down outstanding price deferential claim (PDC). The proposal for ex-post facto commercial loan for PSO was submitted to ECC by the Ministry of Petroleum (MoP), it was learnt. Meanwhile, a statement issued said that the meeting directed the provincial governments to lift the ban of inter-provincial movement of flour in order to improve the supply of the food deficient provinces.  (Business Recorder)

► The urgent need to tackle water and energy shortages  

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has, reportedly, directed the Planning Commission to prioritise those power development projects to be included in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) which have components of both water storage and electricity generation. There is a nation-wide consensus that initiating projects designed to enhance the water storage capacity as well as supply of electricity must be a priority of the new government, given the scale of water and power shortage facing the country today. Thus the Prime Minister's directive is a response to public demand. That for the past eight years, the government did not address the issues related to rising water and energy scarcity has become patently evident..  (Business Recorder)

► Food shortages - a quick fix  

Food prices worldwide are on an upswing, and in most cases, soaring beyond common men's reach. Pakistan is among countries worst hit, a situation attributable to various factors, widely discussed every where, and requires no repetition. What is needed is a short term remedy as well as a long term, permanent solution to prevent recurrence of the disaster. For a quick and reasonably adequate solution that guarantees proper nutrition and minimal side-effects a few suggestions are presented here. Normal diets must assure an adequate mix of nutrients to sustain good health, and avoid any damaging effects. One of the basic requirements is a daily intake of proteins.  (Business Recorder)

► Value-added agro products: global marketing trend opening new vistas for trade

Emerging global marketing trends are opening new avenues of trade and business for value-added products of agro-based industries as this sector has tremendous potential by contributing 60 percent of industrial production and employing more than 45 percent of population. This was stated by University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor, Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while inspecting various stalls of "Management Buzz" of MBA students of fourth semester and organised by the UAF Business Management Sciences Department here at the Chenab Club. Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan stressed the need for introducing new mechanism for agricultural marketing.  (Business Recorder)

► GDP and agriculture growth rate target unlikely to be met: SAB

Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) President, Abdul Majeed Nizamani on Tuesday presented state of agricultural economy in the province and budget proposals for the year 2008-09 at a press conference here. He said that the GDP and agriculture growth rate targets of 7.5 and 4.5 percent respectively are unlikely to be met as the international scenario has worsened and there is a major shortage of wheat and rice. Nizamani said that last year growers suffered losses worth billions of rupees in terms of wheat and sugarcane and huge amount is still outstanding against the mills. Delayed crushing season and indents to middlemen for procuring sugarcane at lesser price added to the miseries of the growers, he added.  (Business Recorder)