Nationwide Updates

► ‘Doha Round should conclude as early as possible’

Being textile and cotton exporter, Pakistan is interested that the Doha Round of the WTO concludes as early as possible, Pakistan’s permanent representative and Ambassador to WTO, Dr Manzoor Ahmad said.  He said if the round was not finished this year it might be extended for a few months and Pakistan would be end-loser, as its products were facing high tariffs in developed countries’ markets, particularly in the US and EU.  While speaking at interactive meeting with civil society organisations, organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Islamabad, here Friday, Dr Manzoor Ahmad briefed the participants about the Doha Round negotiations.   (Daily Times)

► Saudi Arabian special oil facility  

The government of Pakistan's recent request, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to three oil rich Muslim countries, namely, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, to extend the special oil facility (SOF) has borne fruit: Saudi Arabia has reportedly agreed to revive the SOF that it was extending to Pakistan in 1988 after Pakistan's decision to carry out the nuclear test. Many believe that the decision of the Saudi government to extend the facility would go a long way in re-establishing the cordial relations that have historically been enjoyed by the peoples of the two countries - relations that had witnessed a low ebb when Nawaz Sharif was sent back to the Kingdom last year.  (Business Recorder)

► PSO to import petrol for June-July

After a gap of five months, the Pakistan State Oil has sought to import petrol for the June-July period. An official, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn that the PSO would issue a tender on Saturday for the import of Mogas MS-87 RON for supply of 20,000 tons (firm) for the period of June 25-27 while another 20,000 tons (optional) for the period of July to August. According to figures of Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC), the country had already imported 113,025 tons of petrol during October to December 2007 to meet the demand.  (Dawn)

► Budget for development 

THE Pakistani elite is fond of criticising the political leadership for taking populist measures, and advocates tough measures that are required to put the economy on the path of progress. It is time that economic policymakers listened to this piece of advice and took some tough measures by making the elite pay their fair share of taxes. The fundamental structure of Pakistan’s fiscal policy is unjust. It under-taxes the elite and does not spend enough on the needs of the poor. Pakistan’s fiscal expenditure with the additional fuel subsidies will probably end close to 20 per cent.  (Dawn)

► Keeping the development priorities right

In the run-up to the announcement of the forthcoming federal budget, the National Economic Council (NEC) unveiled the block allocation for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) on June 2. The provinces have been demanding an increase in their share in the developmental spending for the past several years. For 2008-09, the NEC has allocated Rs371 billion for federal spending and Rs170 billion for provincial development programmes. The SBP chief has cautioned that given the current economic slow down, great care must be taken in apportioning development funding keeping in view the expected revenues in the forthcoming financial year.  (The News)

► Need for taping our resources

The NWFP has immense agricultural potential, but it has not been fully harnessed because of various reasons, such as lack of funds, absence of infrastructure and indifference on part of the federal government. In the backdrop of the ongoing food crisis, which it seems is going to last forever, and sharp increase in the prices of commodities, the need for tapping the province's vast agricultural resources is being felt even more strongly. First and foremost, there is a need for developing a proper irrigation infrastructure in the NWFP. If the province's share of water, is fully used, 0.7 million acres of additional land can be cultivated.  (The News)

► Fiscal Year 2008-09: Services sector to be backbone of GDP growth

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth pattern set for the upcoming fiscal year 2008-09 mainly relies on growth in services sector by 6.1 percent along with industrial growth of 6 percent and agriculture growth at 3.5 percent, official sources informed Daily Times Friday.  The financial and insurance sector, wholesale and retail trade, transport, storage and communication sector would support the services sector as the major contributor in GDP for the fiscal year 2008-09, the official added.  Due to the lowering of GDP growth rate from 6.5 percent to 5.5 percent, the growth rates for the services sector and commodity producing sectors have also been lowered.   (Daily Times)

► Rice cartels pocket Rs200 billion

Rice cartels bagged about Rs200 billion in a price game that pushed the rates high up to 300 per cent in a short period of six months. According to trade sources a group of big investors, traders, top 30 rice exporters and some players at National Commodity Exchange Ltd (NCEL) engineered the price game to fleece the common man and deprive him from his basic food item. However, for the last one week they have accelerated the sale of hoarded stocks in anticipation of sharp decline in world market prices, which fell from $1,050 per ton to $830 per ton for 100 per cent white Thai rice.  (Dawn)

► Surge in global inflation: Developing economies have been hit harder

The surge in the global inflation has affected developing economies more than the developed economies, because the share of food in the consumption baskets of developing economies is significantly higher than developed countries.  According to SBP sources, a number of factors are continuing to stoke up global inflationary pressures and notably, these factors are: sustained increase in global commodity demand, supply issues, and growing interest of investors in commodity markets on the back of a weak dollar and falling interest rates. Prices of all key commodities have witnessed significant growth since July 2007, they said.  (Daily Times)

► Govt scraps package for ailing textile sector

The government has scrapped a multi-billion package for ailing textile sector, saying that it had already injected over Rs40 billion to boost textile exports, which never came up to expectations. The government has refused to inject another Rs30 billion in ailing the textile sector on additional duty drawback, adding that the dwindling textile exports are not justified for the sector. It rejected the Ministry of Textile’s summary for additional duty drawback granted to the industry on domestically acquired inputs for the financial year 2008-09, The News learnt on Saturday. The additional duty drawback is for taxes on energy (gas and electricity) and would be given to only those products, which do not require further value addition.  (The News)

► ‘World’s farmers by-passed at UN food crisis summit’

The world's farmers were bypassed at this week's Rome UN food summit, reflecting a crucial gap in addressing the crisis at its most basic level, the leader of a global farmers' group said Friday. "It's a reflection of how disconnected and dislinked our multilateral agencies are, from the situation on the ground," Ajay Vashee, the freshly- elected head of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) told AFP at the close of the 38th World Farmers' Congress in Warsaw, Poland. "The people who have the ability to actually do something about this crisis were precluded," Vashee said, adding it was a recipe for "confusion and chaos."  (Daily Times)